Incomplete
by Leonahari
Summary: Kadaj/Yuffie. While Kadaj tries to carry out his mother's will, he is met with some resistance when Loz decides to steal a certain ninja's materia. But Kadaj isn't about to give it back all that easily.
1. Hostage

1:

**A/N: I don't own anything. I just like to change the story around to my liking.**

**This is my first story one this pairing, and I hope you like it. Please R&R, I can handle flames too, but prepare for me to delete them if you can't put a good reason behind why you're giving me a hard time. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Hostage

He readied himself for the feeling of an icy drought; the sudden plunge that submerged his body into a wave of cold water. He shivered under the covers, waiting for the whispers in his head to start taunting him. His whole being was exhausted, but he knew his mother was restless. She called for him and he had no choice but to answer her, feeling her presence wrap itself around his conscious. He bit his lower lip, he hated that feeling of entrapment that she seemed to put on him, and yet excitement was welling up inside him - he had some good news for her.

_Kadaj... _

'Mother,' Kadaj replied to her, his thoughts were caught halfway between conscious and unconsciousness. His mother could only reach him during this temporary state of mind, and she could hold him there for however long she desired.

_Have you progressed? I feel your excitement. _

'I have,' he thought, oblivious to the faint smile on his face. Something shifted in reality, but his mother wouldn't let that distract him from her. He quickly forgot about it, and continued, 'I think I know where they hid you. Mother, the reunion is coming!'

_You __think__? _

Kadaj froze in mid-thought. He could sense his mothers growing frustration, it layered her tone and dripped off every word. Mentally, he shrunk away from her. He hated it when she was angry. And most of all, he hated it when he was the cause of her anger. He said nothing in reply; he didn't know what to do. He knew she could see his uncertainty like a crimson stain on white carpet. He could feel his heart sinking lower in his stomach.

His mother's presence wrapped around his mind tighter, creating a pulsing headache to begin in his temple. Her wrath was unbearable.

_Don't waste my time, Kadaj! I'm tired of waiting for you. If you are wrong, I will be very disappointed! _

Kadaj winced at the pain in his head, before Jenova left his mind with that dire warning. He gasped, at the drastic change from unconsciousness to full awareness and sprung up in bed. His eyes snapped open, cold sweat matted his hair to his face. His green cat eyes flashed in the moonlight, and he turned to see if his brothers had been disturbed to find a similar pair of orbs staring back at him.

Yazoo's expression was plain, but Kadaj could tell from the deep thoughtful look in his eyes that he was deeply concerned. Kadaj felt a pang of annoyance over this, and decided to disregard his brother. Instead, he turned his green gaze up at the sky beyond the glowing silver trees, hoping Yazoo would take the hint and stop staring at him. He could feel the heat creeping into his cheeks, and decided that next time mother visited him, he would need to be more careful when he awoke.

"Was it mother, Kadaj?" Yazoo asked, calmly, regarding his brother with a steady gaze.

Kadaj simply nodded and lied back down with his back facing Yazoo. He was not in the mood to talk right now. Their mother was angry with him again, and it left him with a bitter taste in his mouth every time he thought about how far away they were to actually finding her.

He had spoken to the President on the phone earlier only to find out that their mother was in the hands of the traitor, Cloud Strife. It struck him as odd at first. What would a traitor want with their mother? Kadaj had simply assumed that Cloud was trying to throw him off, and prevent him from uniting with mother. Yet, something in the back of his mind told him that mother was not with Cloud.

Guilt swelled in his chest as he realized he might have lied to his mother. He gritted his teeth. The President would surely pay for his mistake in leading Kadaj to a dead end if it was true.

"She's mad again, isn't she?" The question caught Kadaj by surprise. He rolled over to see that Yazoo's eyes glistened in the moonlight, his frown deepening with every passing second. Kadaj wondered why he had asked in the first place. It wasn't their place to question mother, or feel ill towards her. It was their fault she did at all. They were wasting time, and with each passing day they didn't find her was a day that they could have been closer to the reunion.

"Yazoo," Kadaj breathed a warning. Yazoo's gaze misted over with deep thought. Kadaj hated it when Yazoo became submerged in his thoughts. It was dangerous. Yazoo was normally silent, but lately his usual introspection had been working its way out, and he was starting to ask questions Kadaj nor mother took lightly.

Kadaj threw the covers off himself, and stood up, resisting a shiver at the crisp morning air. It was early, very early, but mother wanted them to get on with it. So, they would and sleep would have to wait. He looked down at Yazoo, who's gaze had not bothered to follow him. Instead he found his brother looked off in the distance as if he had been completely oblivious to Kadaj's movements.

"Wake Loz, we're leaving," Kadaj ordered, loudly. He wasn't sure if Yazoo had even really heard him, but he didn't care.

There was a sound of shuffling blankets and Loz's grunt as Yazoo shoved the covers off his brother. Loz made a gurgling sound, before he woke fully, and realized that Kadaj was already standing before him wearing a frown. Upon seeing his brother's eyes open, Yazoo also stood up and faced Kadaj, curiously.

"Where are we going?" he asked. Loz's sleep gaze followed his brothers and landed on Kadaj expectantly.

"To find mother," Kadaj replied, shortly.

"Where's mother? You know where she is?" there was a hint of excitement in Loz's voice at the mention of their mother. He jumped from the covers, his energy already fully renewed. He was ready to get back on track.

"That's why we're going to _find _her," Kadaj said, irritably. He found that lately his lack of proper sleep was affecting his mood. Yazoo wasn't the only one to note his brother's short fuse, and Loz simply kept his mouth shut after that.

Kadaj picked up Souba from where he had placed it the night before and hitched it to his belt before taking off into the forest again. He could hear his brothers' weary footsteps behind him as he continued to their bikes.

By the time he had reached his, Loz's eyes were half-shut with exhaustion. He didn't know how his little brother could do it, but Kadaj seemed to behold a hidden amount of energy which kept him going like this. Either that, or he was overtired and didn't realize it. He slowly got on his own bike, feeling his brother's gaze on him.

"Wake up, Loz!" Kadaj snapped, "What are you? Human? Only humans need sleep, and we are not as week, so snap out of it!"

Loz would never have admitted it, but he liked to sleep. He knew that Kadaj would probably beat him for saying so, making Loz simply nod and act a little more energetic about being woken up in the middle of the night. But Loz had talked with Yazoo, vaguely, of things in this world he found to like. Sleep was one of them. Did it make him weak to enjoy this simple pleasure?

When he had told this to Yazoo, his brother had only studied him curiously. He had said nothing, which made Loz feel even more insecure about his findings. Was humanity contagious? If so, was he catching on to it?

Loz snapped out of his daydream to find Kadaj and Yazoo staring at him. Yazoo's expression was indifferent, but Kadaj seemed to be fuming. His eyes were narrowed on his older brother suspiciously. Why was he acting like he didn't care about their mission?

"Ready now?" Kadaj growled, dangerously. He could practically read the thoughts coming from Loz's brain – the man was helplessly like an open book.

"Y-yes, I'm sorry, brother," Loz quickly stumbled over his words. However, he hadn't noticed that his choice of words wasn't exactly the most brilliant. Yazoo's widened gaze confirmed this.

Kadaj's glare darkened. "You're _sorry_?" he hissed. Loz felt he could have hit himself in the head for being so slow at times. "Let me ask you one thing, Loz. What exactly are you _sorry_ about?"

Yazoo winced inwardly at his older brother's slip. He knew Kadaj was observant enough to note the guilt in his words, and Yazoo also knew that the guilt had not simply emerged from slowing them down this morning. He had given Loz a few of his well-researched thoughts about mother and the humans they were supposed to despise, knowing full well that Loz had a big mouth and slow mind. Now, Yazoo was greatly regretting saying anything to his brother, and hoped for both their sakes that Loz would not say anything Kadaj about the thoughts or his own involvement in them.

Again Loz was a little slow to answer Kadaj's question. He could see Kadaj's patience thinning out.

"It doesn't matter," Kadaj had said, before Loz could come up with a feeble reply, "We've wasted enough time here," he added, mimicking his mother's words only hours earlier.

Kadaj started the engine on the bike and took off through the glowing forest, thinking of a path to Midgar where he was sure they would find their eldest brother, Cloud Strife. He let a malicious grin escape him, as he felt the mad excitement take him again. If the President was right, Kadaj would finally be with mother.

He leaned lower over the handle bars, caring little if his brothers could keep up with him. He would soon be with mother, and that was all that mattered to him.

* * *

"Yuffie!" Tifa gasped as she watched the young ninja in the midst of balancing six different sized glasses, dropped all but two of them. They crashed and splintered into a thousand small pieces on the scratched wooden floor. Yuffie froze, realizing she had done it again. She went to apologize to Tifa, and ended up dropping the other half of the glasses as well.

"I'm sorry, Tifa!" Yuffie bit her bottom lip awkwardly and looked at the sparkling mess at her feet.

Tifa only shook her head and grabbed the dustbin. She had given up trying to teach the ninja different ways to balance a tray full of expensive glasses and had resorted to giving Yuffie the cheaper pints to deliver instead of the fancy martini glasses she adored. It seemed that her intuition had led her right again, as she cleaned up the broken, cheap, but broken pints.

Yuffie was simply staring down at the mess. She could feel the heat creep up in her cheeks as Tifa's customers shot inquiring looks at her. She had held in her temper as best as she could that night. Only she had swung her server's tray up against the back of some guys head after he attempted to pinch her backside as she walked by. Maybe she just wasn't cut out for this job – it had crossed her mind several times that hour.

"Yuffie, go upstairs and change into some dry clothes and I'll finish up," Tifa said in a tired voice.

Yuffie suddenly realized that she was getting the night off, without pay most probably. She would have to let Tifa give her another chance. How many times now… two… five… oh crap. "Just one more chance, please!?" Yuffie pleaded, but Tifa was too nice to say no and let her glasses get broken again.

"I'm letting you off for the night, but I'll pay you all the same," she said, cursing her soft-heart for hiring her friend in the first place. "So, don't worry."

"I'm so sorry, Tifa!" Yuffie said, "But I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Don't you worry, I'll be the best damn waitress you've ever seen!"

Tifa had to grin at her friend's confidence. On the inside she was wondering why Yuffie didn't just give up and find another job. That was Yuffie, though: never giving up and leaving disaster in her wake.

"Alright, then," Tifa said, as she watched her friend spin around and run up the stairs with a brand new ray of energy vibrating through her.

"Hey! Where's my drink!? I've been waiting forever!"

Tifa sighed, and started back to the bar stand. "Coming, sir," she said, with a little less enthusiasm.

* * *

When Yuffie entered the upstairs, Cloud was getting ready for a delivery. He spotted her and a sly look passed his eyes. "Break another one?" he mumbled.

Yuffie sighed and dropped onto the couch with a somber expression. She crossed her arms over her knees and said, "It was an accident! The floor isn't level or something."

"Okay," Cloud said, quietly, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He looked out the window and noticed that the afternoon was already turning to evening.

Yuffie seemed to be fuming over his last comment, and said, "Hey, you know what, I try okay!"

"I didn't say you didn't," Cloud replied, and then he made his way to the door, "Tell Tifa I'll be back later."

"You tell her! Do I look like a messenger to you?" Yuffie crossed her arms and pouted silently.

Cloud only frowned, and left her like that. He closed the door softly behind him and she heard him descend the stairs.

She stood and went to the window figuring that she should probably go and see if there was anymore materia left to be snatched in Midgar. With that thought, she changed into her dry clothes and left out the back door of the bar with her Shuriken in hand.

She sneaked through the backstreets and into Midgar, careful not to run into anyone peculiar especially not with a large ninja star in hand. The last thing she needed was to set someone after her. Not that she'd mind, honestly, she could take anyone any day. They were no match for the Great Ninja Yuffie!

When she had reached Midgar and the edge of the desert waste land, Yuffie spotted the old church and a couple of disintegrating buildings. She was glad the sun was still up, she hated this place at night. It was way too creepy.

She hitched the Shuriken a little higher in her grip and started toward the edge of the desert wasteland. It had been a while since she had been outside Midgar, but she knew that all the places she hadn't looked yet were just beyond the city, and seeing that she had the night off, why not start looking now?

She had just passed a crumbling stone wall which separated that part of Midgar from the desert when she froze. Her eyes suddenly spotted three figures on bikes at the top of a cliff some distance away. It was hard to tell if they had seen her, but Yuffie could take no chances. She didn't want anyone following her if she happened to find a jack-pot of materia. She quickly dashed behind the stone wall and peered through a hole in the cement at the men in the distance.

* * *

"Hey, Kadaj?" Yazoo was saying lightly over the gusts of the deserted plain, "Is that where big brother lives?"

There was a moment while Kadaj considered the answer, but he was almost certain he could sense Cloud's presence in that direction. His mother's cells were still quite evident within the man even if he chose to ignore them. "Yeah," he said. His eyes narrowed slightly, catching a faint movement in the distance. He ignored it – probably just a stray dog.

"Don't cry, Yazoo," Loz teased. Kadaj leaned back on his bike, taking in the sight before him. He could feel his big brother's presence getting closer – or maybe he was mistaken? No, he was certainly moving towards them and fast.

"But mother's with him," Yazoo replied, indifferently. Kadaj could feel a hint of frustration as he realized that as Cloud's presence grew nearer, his mothers did not.

"Maybe not," he said, voicing his concern, but keeping his brothers from discovering his insecurity over this rather annoying find. Perhaps the President had lied to him, Kadaj thought with a pang of anger and disappointment.

Behind him, Loz had started to sniffle. "Don't cry, Loz," Yazoo said, genuinely. Kadaj ignored them, as another movement in the bottom of the desert valley caught his eye. This time, it confirmed his earlier thought.

"Look," he said with a sly grin, "he's coming."

Yazoo and Loz, unable to sense Jenova cells like their brother, had to find Cloud with their sight. When they did, they gave a sinister chuckle and on Kadaj's order, went after him.

* * *

Yuffie gave a small gasp as she realized two of the men took off after another biker – who looked all too familiar. "Cloud!" she breathed in shock as monsters were summoned after him.

She pressed her face against the cold cement of the wall, watching with wide eyes as Cloud fought off the two men. It was the first time she noticed they had silver hair. Her heart dropped. "Oh, boy," she mumbled, thinking back to the last man she remembered with their coloring, "Not again. Please not again."

She drew her gaze to the last of the three, still up on the cliff, leaning against his bike and talking casually on his cell phone. "How strange," she said, as she noted this man had no interest in what was going on below him.

She went back to watching Cloud, and figured that she would have gone and helped out if they weren't on bikes. Instead, she gasped as monsters jumped up and surrounded Cloud; she resisted the temptation to close her eyes.

Then, they disappeared. Yuffie blinked, a little confused. She brought her gaze up to the third silver-haired man again and realized that he had stopped the creatures. His hand was still posed above his head, a sly grin across his smooth-featured face. She then noticed the other two leave Cloud and take off in the opposite direction.

It was as though they knew exactly what the third was thinking, Yuffie mused. She noticed Cloud stall and gaze up as curiously as she had at the third man on the cliff. It seemed that both Cloud and Yuffie had the same question ringing through their mind: What was that all about?

Just after the third man drove off, Yuffie realized that the other two silver-haired men were making their way toward Midgar. Oh crap! Yuffie threw herself behind a shattered door still hanging off an old building to avoid being seen. She didn't know them, but she figured after terrorizing Cloud like that, she didn't want to be the next target.

She held her Shuriken close to her body, watching closely as they came nearer on their bikes. One was on his cell phone, and they paused. Their bikes coming to a sliding stop just before the building where Yuffie hid. She held her breath and listened closely.

She was taken by their image of silver hair and catlike mako eyes. They were both younger, spinning images of Sethiroth, which made a shiver go down her spin at the thought. Hopefully this wasn't going to be another event like that last one.

The longer haired man paused, his cell phone posed on his ear as he listened intently to the speaker.

"Yes, Kadaj," he said, simply. Yuffie pressed her ear against the door a little harder to listen in. The larger man, a buff-looking older version of the last was gazing at the other curiously.

"We will," the younger one replied into the phone. He folded it and passed it to the short-haired man with a small grin.

"Kadaj wants you to visit the church," he said, indifferently. What were they after? Yuffie mused. Yuffie's eyes widened. Oh no! Not the church!

She had a mental image pass through her mind of her box of materia she had lent to Cloud a few days ago. He had said he needed a few and that he would pay her. Well, she hadn't gotten the money for them yet, and the last thing she needed was for these freaks to find them there. They must be after materia, just like here! But, how did they know it was there? Hmm… Cloud probably let something slip, she thought. She resisted the temptation to bust out of her hiding place and direct them to a different church, but she figured her idea wasn't a brilliant one after what she had just witnessed them do to Cloud.

She figured she would just have to follow them ninja style and keep them from getting the materia. She nodded to her own thought, her mind decided. She watched as the old one nodded almost at the same time as her and started his bike.

Oh crap, he's got a bike. Yuffie figured she would have to run in order to keep up with him, but there was still little chance in getting there before he did. She gritted her teeth as she watched him leave, realizing at she couldn't leave her hiding spot until the other left as well.

The longer haired man sat silently on his bike for a moment, waiting until the sound of the other's motor had faded into the distance. He seemed resistant to Yuffie's attempts of furiously willing him away so she too could go.

Instead, he started his bike and glanced around at the old buildings around him. Yuffie had to wonder what that 'Kadaj' had asked him to do, before he finally tore away from the spot, leaving a trail of sand and dust in his wake.

"Damnit!" Yuffie cursed, jumping from her hiding spot after he had rounded a corner and disappeared. She took off in the direction of the church, hoping with all her will that she could make it there in time to save her materia.

* * *

"Tifa, can we go now, please?" Marlene pleaded happily, as Tifa cleaned up the last of the dishes. It had been a busy afternoon, but now the bar was empty and quiet. Tifa had promised Marlene that she would take her to see the flowers in the church. "And maybe we'll run into Cloud on the way there," she had said earlier that afternoon before having a flood of people walk through the entrance and order drinks.

Tifa knew Cloud liked to visit the church because of the flowers. He didn't have to say anything for Tifa to know they reminded him of Aerith. Silently, she had just accepted his silence, hoping he would soon pull out of it and move on.

In the time being, Tifa had put Yuffie to work and managed the room and bar on her own. With Cloud out on deliveries almost all the time, she had to make sure the kids were looked after. The bar only served as their only source of income, seeing that Cloud like to take detours and burn up his delivery money in the tank of the bike. She didn't mind though. It kept her busy, and every once and a while their friends like Barret, Cid and Vincent would drop in to visit. Well, Vincent… not usually, but Barret liked to see Marlene every week, or as much as he could.

"Alright, let's go, Marlene," Tifa replied, putting the dish towel on the counter and flipping the open sign over. She knew she wouldn't get anyone in until dinner time was over, so she was safe to leave it for a time.

Marlene gave a big smile and ran ahead of Tifa, leading her to the old church. Her excitement caused her to bounce at every third step. So, half running and half skipping Marlene lead Tifa to Midgar unaware of what awaited them there.

* * *

Yuffie had made it to the church in record speed, but not before the silver-haired man had. His bike was parked outside the double doors, and she noticed his heavy footsteps in the sand leading into the church. She panicked and before she could stop herself, she rushed in after him.

The creaking of the floorboards beneath her feet gave her away immediately, and she froze as he turned around to see her standing there holding her large Shuriken close to her chest, her eyes wide and her mouth thin with a frown. She cursed inwardly, noticing her box of materia laying very close to where he stood, but it seemed it hadn't seen it yet. She would try and keep it that way.

He smirked at her appearance, his mako eyes narrowing on her threateningly. Yuffie braced herself. She didn't know what to expect with this silver-haired look-a-like.

Suddenly, he spoke. "Where's mother?" he asked, bluntly. Yuffie blinked.

"Huh?" she said, stupidly. Was this giant of a man asking for this mother? She almost burst out laughing at the thought. How pathetic!

"I said, where's mother?" he repeated. She could sense a hint of impatience in his tone and raised her Shuriken slightly in defense.

This action didn't go unnoticed by him and he chuckled. "You wanna play?" he asked her. He held his hands before him with a grin spreading across his face. Yuffie gritted her teeth. How dare he make a fool of her!

"You don't know who you're dealing with!" she said, proudly, "So, I'd watch it if I were you."

"Oh?" The silver-haired man feigned surprise, his mako eyes widening with a look of childish innocence. However, a look like that on a man his size was only the slightest bit creepy, Yuffie agreed.

"Yeah, you heard me!" Yuffie snapped. She readied her Shuriken and narrowed her gaze on him, giving him the impression that she was not one to give up easily.

"Fine, play with me," the man smirked. Yuffie growled, she had had enough of his mock. She rushed forward, and threw her Shuriken at him.

To her annoyance, he jumped out of the way and landed directly behind her. Yuffie widened her eyes in surprise. He was so fast. "Ooooh!" she snarled, in frustration, turning around and catching the side of his face with a well-aimed left-hanger.

He grunted but pulled out of it, quickly lunging his fist into her stomach and sending her flying backward. In mid-air, she caught her returning Shuriken and landed, skidding to grinding stop. She was just in time to throw her ninja star back at him, and dodge his next attack.

The edge of her Shuriken caught his forearm, but he didn't even pause to see the blood seep onto the leather. Instead, he rushed at Yuffie and sent a shock of energy at her, sending her flying back again. This time, she wasn't so lucky.

She missed catching the Shuriken as it flew over her head and landed somewhere behind her, and the silver-haired man suddenly appeared in the air above her. His fist pounded into her stomach and sent her crashing into the wooden floorboards below. Pieces of wood and dust went flying, and she was sure she would never be able to have kids now that her stomach had been so brutally hit.

He landed somewhere off in the distance of the church. Yuffie struggled to her feet. She could see his silhouette through the dust. The patch of flowers now looked rather trampled on, and she spotted her box of materia and sighed at the sight of it still there, untouched.

This didn't go unnoticed by the silver-haired man. He followed her gaze curiously over to where the box stood and smirked when he realized what it must be, and why she had followed him there.

Yuffie noticed him looking and suddenly jumped up and aimed a punch at him. She caught him straight in the nose. "Don't even think about it! Jerk!" she shouted. She landed in front of the box and watched as he sailed through the air and landed in the patch of flowers.

She grinned proudly at her handy work as he sat up with a bloodied nose. He glanced at the flowers around him and a disgusted look fell across his face. "Gross," she heard him say, before he was rushing at her full on.

She was too slow to move out of the way and felt his weapon crash into her ribs. She let out a gasp of surprise and pain as she felt her ribs crack beneath his powerful attack, and she landed on her side a few feet away.

She groaned and rolled over on her side so that she could see where the man had gone to. Panic striped her of the pain when she saw that he had opened the box and was now gazing hungrily down at her life's worth of materia. He seemed to have forgotten her for the moment, and Yuffie struggled to her feet once more, ignoring the pain in her ribs.

"Stay away from my materia!" she shouted, angrily, glancing over to see her Shuriken laying a few feet away from where he stood. He didn't seem to notice that she had spoken, and instead, picked up one of the little orbs and gazed at it. "Hey! Didn't you hear me!? I'm talking to you!" Yuffie snapped, balling her fists, "Put that down! Do you know who you're dealing with? I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

At this statement the man, still holding the orb of magic glanced over his shoulder at her and smirked. He gave a soft chuckle of amusement. That same glare was on his face. Yuffie couldn't deny that his mako eyes looked too much alike. Again, she glanced over at her Shuriken, but it was too late.

He had lunged forward again, and due to the pain in her ribs, Yuffie couldn't move. She took the blow full on and landed in the flower bed with a long, pained grunt. She caught her breath and leaned up again, to see that the man had put the orb back in its original spot in the box. He straightened up and glanced over at her with a malicious flash in his eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Yuffie growled. Before either of them could say or do anything more a victory theme echoed through the church. It caught her off guard and she froze to glance around. "Wha…" she breathed, confused.

The man frowned and dug in his pocket. He produced a cell phone, and Yuffie's eyes narrowed on him once more as he answered. It took him a moment to say anything, but once he had caught his breath, he said, slowly, "She's … not here."

Yuffie blinked. Who wasn't there? Oh, yeah; _mother_. She almost laughed out loud again at the thought. There was something seriously messed with his head, she thought. And the next thing he said confirmed it.

"I'm _not_ crying!" Yuffie smirked at the psycho. So, he looks for his mommy and he _cries_? Oh, this is just too good!

"Alright… I'll bring the girl." He said. Wait, what? Yuffie blinked and her eyes widened. There was no way she would be kidnapped by this loser.

He hung up, but Yuffie was already on her feet, swaying from the pain in her chest. She readied herself for another attack. "I'm not coming with you! You freak!" she shouted, and rushed towards the Shuriken. She dived for it, but just as she did, he grabbed her leg in mid-jump and flung her at the pile of benches.

She crashed into them, getting more than a fair share of splinters in the process. She groaned again in pain, and this time, she found she could hardly move. She let her face fall sideways and caught sight of the man picking up her box of precious materia. Anger stirred within her, but she was fading.

"Bastard," she mumbled before her eyes slid closed.

* * *

"Come on!" Marlene ran forward through the dusty old street. The church was in sight, and they rounded a corner to see that the doors were open to them. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as Tifa came closer her eyes caught sight of the skid marks of a motorcycle and broken floorboards. She rushed forward in a panic and grabbed Marlene by the arm before the child could go in any further.

"Wait," Tifa said, sternly. She glanced around inside to see that the benches had all been destroyed. With a pang of frustration, the flower bed looked as though it had been trampled by a heard of large animals. Everything was destroyed – more than it had been the last time they were there at least.

"What happened?" Marlene asked, curiously. Her eyes fell on the trampled flower bed and she gasped, "Tifa!" she cried, pointing at it. Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of it.

Tifa hugged her close. Cloud would never have done such a thing, especially not to the flowers. Something was definitely wrong. She thought back to the phone call she had gotten from Reno earlier. He sounded strange, and she knew something was up. She only hoped that Cloud would be alright.

With a free hand, the other was comforting Marlene, she picked up her cell and called Cloud. No answer.

She didn't even bother leaving a message – it would be a waste of time. She looked down at Marlene. "We should go home, Marlene, it isn't safe here." She said, flatly.

"But…"

"No," Tifa said, sternly, cutting off any argument the child could dish out.

"What about Cloud?" Marlene asked, her eyes still watering, and her mouth trembling uncontrollably.

"He'll be alright," Tifa said, uncertainly. She would never have told Marlene otherwise. "Come on, he's probably headed back home too."

With this, Marlene seemed to consider her reply, and nodded. "He said he'd be back right?" she asked, hopefully.

"Of course," Tifa replied, warmly, "Now, come on. It's dangerous here."

Reluctantly, Marlene let Tifa guide her out of the church and back to Seventh Heaven. Tifa sincerely hoped Cloud had made it back to the bar, but something in the back of her mind told her that he had most probably answered her earlier message about Reno, and that he was headed to the Healin Lodge at that very moment.

She kept this silent from Marlene. She didn't need the child to be more terrified than she already was. And with a great effort, she changed the subject and started directing the child's thoughts toward happier things as they walked home.

* * *

Kadaj had waited long enough before he saw his older brother's headlights flashing between the trees in the Forgotten City. He was glad he had made it to him in little time, and would have felt relieved that Loz had taken his earlier words to heart if it hadn't have been for what he noticed Loz carrying _back_ with him.

Kadaj's mouth fell open slightly, his eyes widened in frustration as he saw his brother carrying a large silver box and a _human_ with him on his bike. "Fool," Kadaj breathed. His eyes narrowed as he watched Loz skid to a stop and smirk.

He dropped both things on the ground before Kadaj; the box of materia and the human. Kadaj regarded the human with little interest as she lay unconscious in the dirt before his feet.

"Look what I found!" Loz said, proudly, like a child pointing out a shinny new penny in the dust. Kadaj only scowled.

"What are you thinking?" he snapped. Loz's face fell. He looked like he was going to cry. Kadaj put a hand to his temple as it started to throb with pain again. He could feel his mother's growing impatience, and he started to pace before Loz, resisting the temptation to hit him into oblivion.

"I thought you said –," Loz started.

"I said for you to come back after you had done your searching! Yet, you bring this human and this… what is this?" Kadaj kicked the box of materia curiously.

"Look inside! I found it at the old church," Loz replied, hoping to redirect his furious brother's attention to the materia.

Kadaj bent down and snapped open the locks. The box lid flung open revealing to him the glowing magical orbs. Immediately his face lit up, and Loz smirked, proud of his finding.

"Look what brother was hiding," Kadaj said, picking up one of the orbs and equipping it. His eyes flashed in the light of the magic with a menacing glow. Loz simply admired him, but a small grunt snapped them out of their thoughts.

The human was waking up. Kadaj shot a nasty glare at Loz, who shrunk under his gaze. "You didn't say not to bring her," Loz said, in feeble defense.

"Because I had probably hung up before you said you were bringing her," Kadaj snapped, angrily. Loz realized this and looked rather awkward.

"No, matter," Kadaj was saying, calmly. He turned to face the black river running through the forest, thinking quietly to himself. "Just kill her." He ordered.

Loz nodded, obediently. The human was awake and fully aware now of what was happening. Loz knew from the way she had stood up to him in the church that she wouldn't simply sit back and let him go through with Kadaj's order.

And he was right on the money when she opened her mouth. "What? Hey, wait a second, mister! I'm not through with you yet! You stole my materia, so give it back!"

Kadaj spun around and narrowed his eyes on her. "_Your_ materia?" he hissed.

He noticed her gaze land on his forearm where he had equip one of the orbs. It was still shinning with power, and her eyes widened.

"Ooooh! You thief!" she accused. He only smirked, and looked up at Loz.

"What are you waiting for?" he spat. Loz got off the bike and the human turned over upon hearing his heavy steps come toward her. Her eyes widened, and he grinned maliciously. He raised his fist above his head, readying for a final blow.

Kadaj had turned away from the scene, leaving Loz to deal with the human as he watched for Yazoo to arrive with the infected children.

Yuffie gasped as she watched the older man raise his fist. She had to act fast. Her mind panicked and in the midst of his attack rushing down at her she screamed, "Why were you chasing Cloud?"

Only a second after she had uttered Cloud's name, she suddenly regretted it. The younger man, who she suspected was the one the other two were calling Kadaj, spun around, eyes widened at the statement and shouted, "Stop!"

The older man froze mid-attack, looking up to see that his brother had strode forward and grabbed the human by the neck. He picked her up like that, her feet waving wildly above the ground.

Yuffie gasped for breath, and felt his grip on her neck tighten. "What do you know about it?" Kadaj snarled.

Yuffie would have made a snide remark, but his hand was cutting off her air supply. She gave a feeble cough, her eyes rolled back and he suddenly realized he didn't want to kill her just yet. Kadaj threw her aside and she landed on her butt a few feet away beside the river.

She gasped for air, thankful that he had let her go, but she wasn't stupid enough to say anything to him. She didn't even know why he was so interested in the first place. Instead, she said, "You're an ass!"

She immediately regretted having opened her mouth a second time that day. He was on her before she could even get off the ground. Such speed, she thought as an aside. His hands were on her neck again, his eyes wide with anger. Yuffie noted the youth behind his face and how his silver hair felt before his eyes giving him a more than needed intimidating look.

His grip wasn't so firm this time. She realized she could breath, but she couldn't move. He was pinning her to the ground, even though he didn't look at all that heavy. She grunted at the pain in her ribs as he pressed his knee against her chest to keep her from moving. She held in a scream as the pain ripped through her.

"Now, let's try this again," Kadaj snarled. Yuffie collected all the spit in her mouth and spat it at his face. Unfortunately she hadn't counted on gravity or him leaning back as he watched the ball of spit come towards him, and it ended up landing on the owners face.

Yuffie felt the heat escape her cheeks as her own blob of spit slid down her cheek and into her hair. Kadaj's eyes lit up and he let out a hysterical laugh, his grip on her throat tightened. "How pathetic," he said, gritting his teeth. His eyes returned to their original cold glare.

Yuffie was fuming. "Do you know who I am?" she gasped, ignoring the pain he was causing her. She saw from the corn of her eye the older man smirk, knowingly, and felt a pang of annoyance. How dare they mock her!

"No, and I don't much care!" Kadaj replied, "Now, answer my question, human!"

Yuffie ignored his last comment and shouted, "I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, you freak! And I answer to no one! Not even silver-haired brats like you!"

With that, she thrust her hips and brought her legs up, kicking him off her. Kadaj's eyes widened with panic as he was neatly thrown into the river. A splash of cold water splattered over Yuffie as she grinned proudly at her handy-work.

A cry of panic made her turn to see the older man come running toward Kadaj, who had jumped quickly from the water and onto the bank. His leather clothing glistened and his hair stuck to his face. Yuffie would have pointed and started laughing at him if it hadn't been for cold, and absolutely terrifying mako glare he gave her.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight, and she realized that that probably hadn't been her best idea. Before she knew it he had grabbed her by the neck again and slammed her body against at glowing white tree. His eyes were what scared her the most, glowing green and full of hatred. He bared his teeth and scowled.

The other man stood in the distance watching them, a concerned look for his younger brother spread across his face.

"You're lucky that wasn't mako you threw me into," Kadaj hissed at her.

Yuffie narrowed her ninja gaze on him, and retorted, "No, actually, _you're_ lucky it wasn't! Sheesh, get it right!"

"Great Ninja Yuffie, huh?" Kadaj said, ignoring her cheek. His eyes traveled the length of her body, "So, where's your powerful ninja star, oh Great One?" he mocked.

Yuffie suddenly realized that she had left her Shuriken in the church. She could have kicked herself for it, but it seemed Kadaj was doing that already. She cursed herself silently, and caught Kadaj's triumphant look.

"I hope your life is worth the information you have," Kadaj said, coldly, "because I'm going to get it out of you one way or another."

"I won't tell you anything, you bastard! Give me back my materia!" Yuffie said, stubbornly. Kadaj's eyes narrowed on her, threateningly.

"Hmph," he said, bitterly, "Wrong choice."

With that, the last thing Yuffie remembered was the pain in her ribs and a sudden hit at the back of her head. She watched Kadaj's sneer fade into darkness before she passed out for the second time that day.


	2. You Have No Messages

**A/N: I loved the response I got from the last chapter. Thanks to all who are R&Ring.**

Chapter 2: You Have No Messages

A grunt escaped her lips. It was the first real sound she had made in hours, and Kadaj was starting to savor the silence. He glanced over at her to make sure she hadn't woken up yet. Loz had tied her to a nearby tree as they waited for Yazoo to get back with the children. It was taking his brother far too long to do this simple task. In the meantime, all they could do was wait for him. Kadaj kept hoping his mother would not intrude on his sleep tonight. He had much to do tomorrow and lately his energy had been faltering.

Loz kept himself occupied by sauntering back and forth between Kadaj and the dark waters of the river. Every once and a while he would look up, hoping to see Yazoo coming towards them, but each time he was disappointed and continued his pacing.

Then, his eyes landed on the girl tied to the tree, and he glanced curiously over at Kadaj. He looked awkward. It seemed he wanted to say something, but knew he probably shouldn't. Kadaj noticed this hesitance and snapped, "What is it?"

Loz drew his gaze back to the ninja, and said, softly, "What's so bad about human's, Kadaj?"

Kadaj narrowed his eyes on his brother. His earlier thoughts of Yazoo seemed to have been confirmed by Loz's question. There was no way Loz would be brave enough or smart enough to think to question their mother, and though Yazoo was meant to stay ignorant to some degree, he seemed to be more observant than the latter. Kadaj could not clearly answer Loz's question, mostly because he hadn't bothered to ask mother. She had not told him why. She only expected him and his brothers to take her word for face value.

"Mother says they're vermin," Kadaj replied, using his mother's reasoning to answer the question. He was angry at Loz for even asking such a thing when he knew mother had said that in the first place.

"She doesn't look like vermin," Loz said, clearly thinking out loud. Kadaj immediately rounded on his brother for that remark. He would not let Loz's thoughts continue.

"I don't care what she _looks like_, Loz. Are you saying you don't believe what mother has to say?" Kadaj snapped, darkly. Loz's face fell almost as soon as the question was uttered, and he immediately denied it.

The sound of a roaring truck engine echoed through the white, glowing trees and all around them. Kadaj and Loz turned to see Yazoo driving toward them with a truck load of children sitting calmly on the back.

Kadaj smirked, while Yazoo stopped the truck and the children started to jump off and surround the bank of the river facing them on the other side. Kadaj was glad to see that one of his brother's paid attention to his orders. Maybe this whole thing would turn out for the better.

Just as he thought it, the ninja awoke from her uncomfortable sleep against the tree. Her eyes shifted to the restraints around her body, pinning her to the cold cedar, and her face fell with a look of frustration in her eyes. She balled her fists and glared toward the silver-haired siblings, but before she could say or do anything she caught sight of a group of children standing on the other side of the river.

Her mouth fell open when she realized one of them was Denzel. At that very moment, Denzel spotted Yuffie and his eyes widened in surprise. Not only that, but he couldn't help but notice that she was tied to a tree. His mouth fell open slightly, and he ran forward into the river, splashing and wading over to where Yuffie and the silver-haired men stood.

Yuffie suddenly realized that this would not go unnoticed by Kadaj and his brothers, and before she could warn Denzel, Kadaj had come over and grabbed the boys wrist to stop him going further. Denzel shot Kadaj a glare before glancing back at Yuffie, who was shaking her head furiously.

"Denzel, don't!" she warned.

"Yuffie," Denzel was about to protest. He ripped his hand away from Kadaj, who regarded him with gentle curiosity in the midst of the watching children. He couldn't very well kill the boy, or he'd loose the children's favor, and they wouldn't follow his orders.

He had to admit, he hadn't really counted on any of the children knowing the ninja, and now he found that he was in somewhat of a predicament.

Yuffie seized this opportunity as soon as she realized there was one. "Untie me, you jerk! Denzel, don't listen to anything he says! He's really mean!" she shouted so all the children could hear.

Kadaj froze as he felt all the muttering falter at Yuffie's cries. He turned to see that the children were staring at him like he had done something terrible. He released Denzel's wrist upon realizing that he was loosing his audience already, and backed away from the boy.

"Let her go!" Denzel suddenly spat. Anger radiated through his brown eyes, his little fists balled up in defense. He stood tall, even though he only came to Kadaj's waist, and glared up into Kadaj's green mako orbs.

Without a second thought, Kadaj nodded to Loz, who looked at Kadaj as though he thought he was joking. "Let her go?" he asked, uncertainly.

"That _is_ what I meant, Loz," Kadaj snarled under his breath, trying to avoid the glares he was getting from the children. He turned back to the boy and smirked, not letting the children or Yuffie see how awkward and trapped he was feeling at the moment. He didn't really need the children, now that he thought about it, but he would try and gain their support for mother. If they met him with resistance then he would simply kill them. It was no real lose to him.

Loz had untied Yuffie and she was slumped against the tree now, holding a hand against her broken ribs. She eyed Kadaj suspiciously, knowing full well that the silver-haired fighter had something up his sleeve and she wasn't quite sure what it was.

Kadaj disregarded her and turned back to the children across the river. He would have to try a little harder to gain their favor this time. He held his hands out in front of him, a small grin was making its way across his face.

"Mother has given me a very special gift," Kadaj started, raising his hands above his head. Yuffie watched him, curious of what he could be up to. Her eyes traveled from him to her box of materia next to where Loz was still standing. There would be no way of retrieving it just yet. "…the power to fight against a planet that torments humanity!"

What could he be talking about? Yuffie mused. She glanced over at the group of children to find that they were all mesmorized by him. Even Denzel seemed to be captivated by Kadaj's lean frame stretching out towards the stars. His eyes flashing determinedly in the glow of the white trees surrounding them as he spoke, putting a special emphasis on each word he uttered.

"She gave this gift to all her children," Kadaj said, nodding at them, "That's right – you and I are brethren!"

Wait, what? Yuffie must have heard something wrong. How could he be related to all those children unless he was saying it metaphorically? It still didn't make sense in her mind, and she wondered what an earth was going on. Yuffie listened to the rest of his speech until he finally seemed to have captured all of the children's attention. They seemed to have forgotten about the little scene with Denzel and Yuffie, and instead they watched Kadaj with wide eyes, taking his every word in like it was their elixir.

Even Yuffie found herself believing every word Kadaj said, and somehow something within her agreed with him. Yes, the planet was holding us back. Yes, I should help you destroy the resistance and fight back. Yes, I'll follow with you.

Her eyes traveled the length of his slender frame. She found him to be captivating and persuasive, and with that thought she felt her mind pull her out of whatever trance she had been in. In spite of herself, Yuffie's eyes followed him as he plunged himself into the river and drank deeply from its black waters.

She was in such a state of mind, she didn't even notice Denzel and the other children follow Kadaj in and do the same. She tried to follow to, but pain ripped through her ribs again, snapping her out of the trance almost immediately as she gasped for air.

Kadaj smirked as he looked upon the mako eyes of his followers. It was all too easy, he thought. He heard a gasp behind him and turned to see Yuffie crumple to the ground. Deciding it wasn't important enough for him to be too concerned, Kadaj turned back to Yazoo, who was standing on the sidelines watching him from the bank.

"What did the President have to say, Kadaj?" Yazoo asked, indifferently. He was uncertain of President Shinra's alliance with them, but he knew from Kadaj's last reaction to not finding mother, that the man could hardly be trusted. He didn't know why Kadaj went back to him a second time, but he was in no position to question his younger brother, especially when it was so evident who their mother favored most.

"The monument in the center of Edge," Kadaj explained, calmly, "He said she was there."

Kadaj dropped his gaze and waded back out of the water. His body was cold and he could feel his skin giving in to the shivers that coursed through his blood. He glanced over at the ninja, who seemed to be trying to get Denzel's attention with silent gestures. She suddenly realized Kadaj was watching her with a sneer and she narrowed her eyes on him.

"What have you done to him?" she snarled, "Oooh! When I'm all healed, I'm going to rip you apart. Why are you doing this? What's all this talk about your mom, huh? I'm still waiting for you to give back my materia too, ya know!"

Kadaj tried to ignore her, and found that her voice seemed to penetrate his mind like a knife through butter. He found it irritating and he was getting a tremendous headache from it.

"Loz, tie her up again," he snapped, putting a hand to his temple in frustration, "and use something to shut her up!" he added as an afterthought.

Yazoo walked slowly over to his brothers, and watched Loz stuff a ratty piece of fabric into the girl's mouth. She looked absolutely disgusted, and fought back as much as she could with the pain she was no doubt going through. Loz restrained her hands behind her back in such a way that the rope wrapped around her neck as well, strangling her if she dared to struggle. She found this out all too soon and froze, realizing that if she even move she would suffocate herself, and she doubted any of the silver-haired men would help her out if they noticed her turning a certain shade of purple.

"Maybe, if we heal her she will stop making noise, hm?" Yazoo suggested. Even though Yuffie couldn't talk with the silencer in her mouth, she extremely like the sound of that idea and started to nod her head, only stopping when she realized the rope around her neck tightened a bit.

Kadaj turned on his brother. "That has got to be the stupidest thing I've heard come out of your mouth, Yazoo, along with the other stupid things you've said lately," he growled.

Yazoo only frowned, but stared directly at Kadaj unafraid of the glare he was receiving. "Whatever you say, brother," was all he said in reply. It was indifferent, just like everything that came from his mouth, but his eyes were what told the story behind the words and not the words at all. Even though his words were passive, Kadaj noted a hint of annoyance behind his mako eyes that he didn't like in the least.

"Please don't fight," Loz said from in the background. He was still standing next to the materia with a look of calamity spread across his face.

Kadaj only scowled and turned to his bike. Before he could do anything more, however, his senses tore his attention to other matters at hand. He blinked at drew his gaze toward the white trees and empty pathways ahead. Was he wrong? Had Cloud really followed them here?

He went to stand at the rivers edge and gaze out ahead of the children and beyond the trees. He closed his eyes for a mere second before he was certain what he was feeling was true. He opened his eyes again to see a temporary flash of a headlight pass between a row of white trees.

He tore his gaze away and turned to meet his brothers inquiring looks. He smirked, his mako eyes narrowing darkly. "Big brother has followed us here," he said, "Let's go and give him the welcome he deserves."

Loz grinned, coolly, and Yazoo only laughed quietly to himself before they followed Kadaj and the group of mako-eyed children to the other side of the river to await Cloud's appearance.

Yuffie tried to protest, but only ended up making muffled sounds against the silencer. Kadaj shot her a dark glare. "Shut up, girl," he snarled, before turning away and walking out of her line of vision.

She was still curled up on the ground before the tree. She was unable to move do to Loz's fancy tying, and now she was unable to speak or scream or yell or… wait! She could walk. They hadn't tied her legs.

Upon realizing this she also realized that she was alone, and with that thought her eyes traveled to the materia next to the bike. Excitement flooded her. She would finally be getting out of this mess. Okay, so now to get up and get out of these binds.

Slowly, she turned over on her stomach and without using her arms or her hands, she braced herself, ignoring the pain in her ribs and stood, balancing awkwardly without arms. She knew she wouldn't be able to celebrate her victory for long, so she sauntered over to the box of materia. There was one problem: she didn't have hands to grab it.

Cursing herself, she glanced around in search of something to cut the rope with. In the distance she could hear gunshots being fired off, and hoped that whoever they were firing at would pull through it. Whoever it was, it didn't concern her. She was more set on getting out of there than anything else.

She searched the bike and thought that it might be something like Cloud's bike with the hidden compartment for his swords, but she was mistaken and couldn't find anything that would help. Instead, she surveyed her surroundings. She found nothing.

Growling in frustration, Yuffie kicked the box of materia so that the lid slammed down hard. Then, it was like a light when on inside her head. She remembered having cut her finger on the rim of the lid because it was so sharp. Knowing that she probably didn't have much time, as she heard the explosions and shouts from deeper in the forest and wondered what an earth was going on, she opened the lid of the box clumsily with her foot.

Leaning down, rather awkwardly, Yuffie managed to get a part of the rope binding her wrists together against the rim of the lid, and without too much movement on the part of her hands, she began to slide back and forth along the sharp edge. She could hear it working, the thin strands making up the rope fell apart piece by piece and eventually she had her wrists and hands free.

She stood up and removed the rope from around her neck, tossing it to the ground at her feet triumphantly. She locked the lid on the box of her materia and stood up with it wrapped in her arms. She glanced from side to side, half expecting Kadaj and his brothers to appear at any moment. When they didn't, she grinned to herself, and said, "Ha! Great Ninja Yuffie outsmarts even creepy silver-haired men!"

She noticed the bike sitting there, and decided she probably shouldn't test it with her motion sickness, but she knew if she left it there they would only track her down faster. Well, she was no mechanic, but she did know that if you removed pieces from the engine randomly, the engine would stop working. She smirked to herself at her brilliant plan, and placed the box of materia down beside her.

She rubbed her hands together and got to work on what she figured was Kadaj's motorcycle. She tore pieces from here and there, wherever she could, and threw them into the river. In the end, her hands were black with oil, but she washed them off in the water. Then, grabbing her box of materia, she set out.

Already basking in her brilliance, she figured she should visit the old church to retrieve her Shuriken, just in case she was attacked a second time by silver-haired fiends.

* * *

Kadaj hadn't finished with Cloud yet, but a crimson blanket had come between them and stole him away. He gritted his teeth, Souba hung sadly at his side and he sheathed it regretfully. "Damn!" he cursed, letting his muscles relax after the fight seemed to be over.

He hadn't fought anyone that powerful since… ever. It was evident that their big brother seemed to have much potential with mother's help, and Kadaj wondered why he refused to join them. He was sure mother would have been thrilled, and it hit him as odd that Cloud didn't seem to care what mother thought. How strange, he mused, a puppet without the strings, perhaps?

A strange feeling came over Kadaj, a feeling he couldn't quite put a name to.

"Hey, Kadaj," Yazoo was saying, quietly, "Where did big brother go?"

Kadaj scowled, and shot a dark glare at the trees behind him as though expecting Cloud to appear from them at any moment. To be honest, he couldn't quite answer Yazoo's question, but the thought of Cloud being followed by a transporter everywhere he went was intriguing.

"Come on," he said, absently, ignoring the question. He turned to go back to the camp in the center of the Forgotten City. His brothers followed him. The children were all sitting on the ground around the truck when they returned. Kadaj ignorantly stepped through them, his gaze barely pausing on the one named Denzel before he continued on past and across the river.

Again, he couldn't get over the cold of the water. Loz and Yazoo seemed to ignore it, but Kadaj had to restrain a violent wave of shivers that threatened to run through his body. However, the coldest feelings finally hit when he returned to the other bank and noticed two things were missing.

"Where did the girl –," Loz stated in panic, but Kadaj's eyes had seen something they hadn't yet.

"The materia," he hissed, striding over to his bike, to where the materia had sat moments before, "She took the materia."

"We must find her, brother," Yazoo said, indifferently again.

"No matter," Kadaj said, with a wave of his hand, his eyes flashed maliciously in the moonlit forest, the glow of the white trees making his hair shine like the real mineral of silver. His brother's were taken aback at Kadaj's carelessness, and Yazoo was reluctant to point it out, fearful of what Kadaj would think of him if he did so. He had already been scolded for speaking enough times that day to say much more, but Loz seemed adamant that Kadaj was making a mistake.

"But I thought… um, she has information on big brother, Kadaj?" he said, struggling to get the reason behind his question so it came out rather awkward. Yazoo mentally flinched as he imaged Kadaj's reaction to this.

However, Kadaj seemed too much in a good mood to care about that at the moment. His eyes sparkled darkly, and Yazoo could almost see the mind behind those glowing green orbs working at a stunning pace. He couldn't help but smirk at his younger brother's cunning brilliance, as Kadaj held up something that looked oddly like a flip-phone.

"Big brother forgot something," Kadaj sneered, gleefully. Yazoo and Loz both grinned at the sight of Kadaj holding up Cloud's cell phone. Everyone but Loz seemed to understand.

"What are you going to use that for?" he asked, genuinely confused. Kadaj smirked and flipped the phone open and pried into the inbox where Cloud's voice messages were stored.

"Oh, just gathering information," he said, casually, "you know, seeing if big brother really does know about mother's whereabouts."

He grinned and turned away from his brothers, placing the phone to his ear he listened carefully to the messages. _"You have 3 saved messages,"_ the operator said tonelessly.

"_Message 1: Heya, how've you bin? It's Barret, Cloud, just figured I'd give ya a ring before I dropped in to see Marlene! Ya give me a call sometime, eh? I'll be waitin' to hear from you! Bye for now!" _

Kadaj gave a low growl as the operator offered for him to delete the message and he did without a second thought.

"_Message 2: Guess who!? It's Yuffie!" _Kadaj paused to listen carefully. So, the brat did know Cloud after all. _"Just calling to see if you could tell Tifa I'm gonna be late tonight. She's not picking up at Seventh, so…Anyways, I just found a huge load of materia! So, I'll be down at the bar when I'm done hiding it, okay? See ya!" _

Seventh? Bar? Kadaj decided to save that message just in case something came to him later. It seemed Yuffie was working for Cloud and a woman named Tifa, and he could find them there. He wasn't sure. Maybe that's where mother was.

"_Message saved for 5 days. Next message: Cloud, it's Tifa…how've you been? Barret called, he's going to drop in next week to visit with Marlene. He said he tried to call you, but… Let me know if you're going to be stopping by in the next while, okay? Denzel said you told him you'd be back, but it's getting late… I hope everything's alright. Bye."_

Kadaj closed the phone and put it in his pocket, thoughtfully. So, it seemed that his first place of research would be this bar…Seventh? He wasn't quite sure, but it sounded like mother would be there. If it hadn't been in the church, then she must be there. Kadaj nodded absently to his own thoughts, and turned to see that Yazoo and Loz were staring at him expectantly.

"Any news?" Yazoo asked, curiously.

"Maybe," Kadaj said, shortly. He knew he mustn't waste any more time than was necessary, but he could feel how tired he was from waking up in the dead of night earlier. Reluctantly, he gestured to the general surroundings and mumbled, "We'll rest here tonight. Tomorrow, you and Loz will take the kids to the monument."

"And you, brother?" Yazoo said, with genuine interest. Kadaj hated it when Yazoo expected him to tell him everything he was doing like he had the authority to know. However, he wasn't in the mood nor had the energy to argue, and so he simply said, darkly, "I must have a word with the President."

Yazoo and Loz exchanged grins. Having the feeling that they were finally progressing to something was a good one. It was something that Kadaj hadn't felt in some time, after the circles he'd been running at the President's beckon. He was certainly looking forward to the 'chat' with him tomorrow.

He and his brothers settled down using plain blankets from their bikes, and when Kadaj finally closed his eyes that night, he was thankful to have some sort of peace as the darkness took him into a rare deep sleep.

* * *

It was after midnight and Tifa felt she had reason to worry once she noted Cloud had still not returned. She was worried about this whole event, and even more worried about the children. Denzel was still missing, and she hadn't heard anything from Cloud.

Not that this was any surprise to her, but it wasn't her she was worried about. She could handle Cloud's negligent behavior, but she hated to see him do it to Marlene and Denzel. They looked up to him, and Tifa hoped Cloud wasn't so arrogant as to ignore that fact and crash their image of him. She could see it happening already.

And _where _was Yuffie? Tifa had sworn the girl had been gone all night, and she had a room here. Tifa shook her head and hoped she hadn't gotten into any sort of trouble. She knew Yuffie. That girl and trouble seemed to find each other no matter how hard Tifa tried to prevent it. She had wanted to tell Yuffie about what was happening, but she wasn't answering her phone either.

Instead, she had called Cid, who confirmed that he was on his way to help and would be there in the morning with Barret. She smiled. At least _someone_ was being helpful at a time like this.

She glanced back out the window, trying to ignore the snores coming from the next room that she had given to Reno. Rude had insisted on guarding their doors, even though Tifa had said it wasn't necessary. So, in total, she had to try and fall asleep over snores and pacing leather boots all night: well, that wasn't happening.

She sighed. Then, for the third time that day, she picked up the phone and dialed Cloud's number. It rang… and rang… and rang, and then: _"Please leave a message. Beep." _

Tifa frowned. She should have known. Giving in, she decided to leave a message. "Cloud, it's Tifa again. Where are you? Did you find the kids? Please call me back, I'm really worried, okay? Bye."

She dropped the phone back down on the night table and scowled, not expecting to get a reply anytime soon. Instead, she lied down and pressed her ears into the pillow trying to block out the sounds around her so that she could get a few hours of sleep that night.

* * *

Kadaj was snoring. Yazoo blinked in surprise. Kadaj never snored. He smiled as he realized his younger brother was finally getting the rest he deserved and needed without any disruption. Hopefully, after a good nights rest, he would be less bipolar and not take things out on Yazoo so much.

With that thought, Yazoo closed his eyes too, thankful to be getting a good night's sleep in what seemed like his entire life. Everything was quiet and peaceful, and he cherished every moment of it.

_Ring!_

"What the –," Yazoo's eyes snapped open, as he realized his peace had just been destroyed for good, and by what was beyond him.

_Ring!_

Yazoo's eyes fell on Kadaj with a pang of disappointment as his younger brother's snoring stopped. He shifted under the covers as the noise rang through the forest and echoed off the trees.

_Ring! _

"_Fuck_ this!" Yazoo winced at Kadaj's curse as his brother was roused from what had most probably been the best sleep in his entire life. Suddenly, deciding he didn't want to be discovered awake, Yazoo closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He figured Kadaj was not in the greatest of moods and he didn't want to end up the target again.

The phone stopped ringing finally, and Kadaj was sitting up holding it out and gazing at it as though contemplating throwing it into the river. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and figured if it hadn't been his mother, he knew something would have woken him. It seemed his life's rule not to have more than four hours of sleep without _something_ happening to disturb him.

This time, he held out the phone and gaze at the screen which read: Tifa calling in bright blue. He had to grin at the irony that the call wasn't even for him, but ended up ruining his day no doubt. And just when he thought things were getting better too.

He frowned when he noticed Tifa had left a message. He ignored it, and threw the phone aside, laying back down to hopefully get some more sleep. Yet, now, it wasn't his mother or a phone that was bothering him to wake up. It was his own damn conscious. There was a guilty pit in his stomach for not checking the message right away, and he suddenly caught himself.

What if the message was valuable? Had he for a moment put his mission aside for a simple pleasure like he had cursed Loz for only hours before? He bit his lip and decided he should probably take his own advice and check the phone.

As he had suspected, it was nothing too valuable, but the mention of finding the kids did arouse his interest. So, Cloud must know more about this affair than Kadaj had originally thought, which meant the President was no longer to be trusted at all. Kadaj was not stupid. He knew the President had most probably said something to Cloud, and that only angered Kadaj more to know that he had been tricked _again_.

Before he could come to a decision of whether to start searching for mother again now or give in to the temptation of sleep, the phone rang again. This time Kadaj regarded it with a look of mild curiosity. How many phone calls did Cloud get in a day?

Kadaj didn't bother looking to see who was calling this time. Instead, he took out his own cell phone and stared at it as though he expected it to ring as well. Without really thinking of what he was doing, Kadaj opened his messages and put the speaker to his ear.

"_You have no messages_." Kadaj frowned.

And then, it hit him. Like a stone falling from the star-strewn sky right on top of his head, a question Kadaj had never thought of before struck him there as he held both cell phones, one in each hand. He looked between them, noting how similar they were on the outside, and yet one was so purposeful and he saw that it held activity and life, while the other stayed rather silent.

Well, that one was his own and it still had a purpose. Kadaj was in strong agreement. But for what purpose did it hold? He used it from time to time, but it didn't actually receive messages like the other did.

And then another question came to him, just like the other had only it came to him a little less aggressive than the last.

"But you used to be like me," Kadaj mumbled, "right?"

It suddenly occurred to him that Cloud's days of being a vessel were done, and Kadaj loathed him for it. He shook his head at the thought. No, he hated him because he gave up on mother, he thought. That's why he hated him, right? Kadaj couldn't believe what he was thinking, but it was intriguing all the same. How was it that he had _developed_ some personality traits that even Yazoo or Loz were unfamiliar with? Weren't they supposed to be the same? Remnants of the same person? And yet, he was _growing_ and creating his own characteristics that even Sephiroth had never shown.

And then, a small unfamiliar voice in the back of his mind, asked, _how could I be my own person, when I'm only meant for one purpose? _

Suddenly, a loud ring disturbed his thoughts and snapped him back to were he sat in the Forgotten City underneath the empty night sky. Kadaj frowned as he noticed that same person was calling Cloud's phone again. He turned it over and with a tinge of annoyance noticed that the blue screen on the front read that Yuffie was calling.

Realizing that he wanted to get some sleep that night and that she obviously would not leave any messages, Kadaj hesitated before answering. He didn't say a word as he put the speaker to his ear, and instead he just listened.

He didn't really know what he was doing. He just wanted for her to not call this number anymore, and he thought about saying that, but then he stopped. Cloud wouldn't say that, would he? And why did he suddenly care? He told himself that it was because the phone was still valuable to him, and if Yuffie realized it was him she would tell people not to call that number.

So, he silently listened.

"_Oh, so you finally picked up!" _she said, _"My goodness, I should note this down somewhere!" _

Kadaj figured Cloud never answered his phone, which worked just well for him. He stayed silent, but realized she would probably catch on eventually. He would just have to play along, but what would Cloud say? And did he even _sound_ like Cloud? He almost scowled, probably not, he thought.

Taking a quick breath, Kadaj figured it was worth a try and even if he messed up it wouldn't be the end of the world. _He_ knew _that_ at least.

"What is it?" he asked, bracing himself to see if his voice acting worked.

"_Pfft, just like you to be oh so serious! Aren't you worried about me? I've been gone for hours!" _Yuffie snapped. Kadaj had to grin at the fact his voice was working, but now he was faced with another problem. Worried? How should he be worried? He had never actually felt that way in his life. What was it to feel worried? What should he say?

"…"

"_Nevermind. Forget I asked," _Yuffie said, taking the load off Kadaj, who realized Cloud must not be much of a conversationalist. He smirked at that.

"_Anyways, don't you want to know where I am?" _Yuffie asked. Kadaj could sense the hurt in her voice at his careless replies. He thought he probably should start acting a little more concerned, but he didn't know where to begin. Then, he thought about her next question and glanced around realizing she had the materia he wanted so badly.

Without thinking, he said, "Yes. Where are you?"

"_I'm just leaving that creepy glowing forest now. I was kidnapped, Cloud! And I think I have a broken rib, it really hurts…" _Yuffies voice cracked, and Kadaj had never heard anyone besides Loz or Yazoo cry before and somehow it seemed to bother him…more than it should have. He thought maybe it was his overtired mind, and excused it as just that.

He noticed he'd been silent for a bit too long, and wondered what Cloud would say next. Probably exactly, what Kadaj said, "Wait there, I'll come and get you."

With that said, Kadaj stood up and made his way to his bike. The cell phone was still pressed firmly against his ear. This would be a good chance to steal back that materia, he thought.

"_Hey, I can't do that bike thing. Remember my motion sickness?" _Yuffie complained.

This threw Kadaj off guard for a moment and he stopped mid-step. "Motion sickness?" he repeated. Was she really _that_ weak?

"_You haven't forgotten have you?" _Yuffie snapped. He could sense her growing frustration, and decided to avoid it.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," Kadaj said the first thing that came to mind. What else was he to say? He didn't _remember _anything, of course, so the best thing to do was get out of that conversation as fast as possible.

"_Okay, I'll just sit here then. When you get here, I'll tell you everything, okay? It was those three silver-haired guys that did it. You know what I'm talking about, right?" _Yuffie said. Kadaj heard a shuffle in the background and figured she was sitting down on a stump or something. At the mention of himself and his brothers he asked, "Are you scared?"

He just had to know. Not only would it entertain him, but he was just plain curious.

"_No way! They can't scare me even if they tried! Even the one named Kadaj wasn't scary, he was just mean! And he's supposed to be the boss or something! Pfft, maybe if he was a little taller!" _Yuffie said, with a hint of amusement.

Kadaj gritted his teeth and resisted the temptation to tell her who was really listening in on the other side of the line, but decided better of it. He would kill her when he got there instead, and he would _enjoy _it.

"I'll see you there," Kadaj said, trying desperately to keep his voice calm. Luckly, Yuffie hadn't noticed anything and agreed to his last statement. They both hung up. Kadaj grabbed Souba and mounted his bike. He took one last glance at his brothers before quietly driving off into the forest.

After he had left, Yazoo opened his eyes. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, and now Kadaj was rushing off to meet… who? He didn't know, but it deeply offended him to think he was getting involved with anyone outside of their mission. He frowned deeply, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. As long as Kadaj showed some enthusiasm in completing the reunion everything would go as planned.

He sighed and closed his eyes again, and wished for sleep to take him like it had done before.

* * *

Yuffie hung up and dropped the box of materia down under her feet. She sat awkwardly on a stump of a log, waiting for Cloud to come and get her. Actually, it was kind of strange that Cloud had simply volunteered like that. Normally that never happened. She supposed she had pulled a good act when she pretended to cry. Not that she really needed anymore attention, but she wasn't about to walk all the way to Edge with broken ribs.

She looked back at the forest she had just appeared from and wondered what that crazy trio was planning. She shrugged it off, whatever it was she was sure she and her friends could handle it.

She still couldn't get it out of her mind of how he had put her so easily into that trance when he had made his speech to the children. How had he done it? She put a mental note in the back of her mind to warn Cloud about Kadaj's persuasive powers, if she could even call them that. The last thing they needed was for him to persuade the whole of AVALANCHE that what he was doing was right. Yuffie smirked. For some reason she just couldn't see that happening.

Her head snapped up as she heard the roar of a bike engine in the distance. She couldn't quite tell where it was coming from, but it was certainly a bike. She stood and took a deep breath. She would have to ready herself for an eventful trip on a motorcycle. She hated the thought, but what could she do with broken ribs? Not walk, that was certain.

She glanced around in search of the noise, and saw a cloud of dust on the horizon. It was coming from the edge of the forest, which she thought was rather strange. Maybe Cloud hadn't been in Midgar at all when she'd called. Hmm… something still wasn't quite right, she thought.

Before she could ponder any longer, it was too late. She saw a flash of silver under the moonlight and before she could break for a run, Kadaj had slid to a stop in front of her with a cold grin across his face. She was frozen to the spot. How had he known? Her mind hadn't quite registered until he spoke. "Your ribs are hurting and you can't walk to Midgar?" he mocked.

Her eyes widened and she cursed inwardly at her own stupidity. Kadaj was already dismounting his bike and unsheathing his long twin katana. He stood in front of her with a sneer. She was so shocked she couldn't even say anything. Her only thought was that she was most probably going to die tonight, and the guy with her blood on his hands hardly surpassed her by height. She scowled at the thought.

"So, Great Ninja Yuffie," Kadaj said, smoothly, "not afraid are you?"

"Never, you short, silver-haired pee-wee!" Yuffie retorted. She was so angry that he had outsmarted her that she didn't care what she said. She was going to die anyways, right?

"Hmph," Kadaj grunted, softly. He dug into his pocket and produced something white and glowing. Materia! Yuffie almost attacked him for it, but her ribs were enough to freeze her to the spot again. She eyed it hungrily, and he noticed her gaze with something close to amusement.

He almost expected her to start drooling over it, and he knew she needed it greatly. "You know what this is, girl?" he teased, she shot him a dark glare, "This is cura; very valuable."

Yuffie's eyes widened as she watched him hold it out to her. She couldn't believe what he was doing, and didn't move until she was sure it wasn't a trick. Slowly, she went to grab it from him, but just when her finger graced the top of the glowing orb, Kadaj snatched it back, spun on the spot and pitched it into the desert plains behind them.

He turned back to see her stunned expression, and said, bitterly, "You want it? Go and get it."

Yuffie watched the glowing white orb sink a few hundred yards away from her and felt her heart sink with it. She gritted her teeth and turned on Kadaj. "What was that for?" she snarled.

Kadaj was sheathing his sword. He mounted the bike she thought she had dismantled earlier. "For waking me up!" he snarled in frustration.

With that, he tore off into the forest and disappeared. Yuffie watched him, not really understanding his answer, but she didn't really care at the moment. Her eyes traveled back to where the cura had landed. She definitely needed it. She would have to walk a little further now.

Then, it struck her, like questions sometimes do and she wondered why he had helped her in the first place. He could have slew her there and then and thought nothing about it. It was an answer, she couldn't really give.

She shook her head, feeling rather depressed and alone, and started to walk out after the orb, when she remembered her box of materia and turned back for it.

But it wasn't there.

"Damnit!" she cursed as she realized he had outsmarted her again. "Ooooh, I'm gonna get him if it's the last thing I do!"

And she intended on keeping that promise.


	3. Without Mother

* * *

**A/N: Again, thanks to all who have left me a review.**

Chapter 3: Without Mother

Morning dawned early and Tifa awoke to absolute silence. It was strange and unnerving. She sat up in bed and glanced out the window. It was dawn. Downstairs she could barely hear the shuffling of small feet and figured the children were already up and waiting for her.

Yawning, she left her room and headed downstairs, half expecting Cloud to be there, but something in the back of her mind told her he still hadn't returned. The empty room confirmed it, and soon annoyance turned into panic. She pulled out her cell phone and saw that he had not called through the night. Where was he?

Before she could think to call him again, a movement in the far corner drew her attention and she jumped slightly upon seeing Yuffie sitting on a bar stood looking very tired. Not only that, it seemed she had been beaten up and throw into a compactor by the look of her.

Her hair was a mess, matted with dirt. Her clothes were filthy. Her face was dusty and small amounts of it clung to the ends of her eyelashes as though she had been through a sandstorm. What alerted Tifa the most was the rope burns around her wrists and neck and the blood stains on her clothing. She gasped slightly at the sight and went over to Yuffie, concern spreading over her features.

The ninja didn't even look up. Her eyes drooped with exhaustion and she looked as though she was already in a state of unconsciousness.

"Yuffie?" Tifa whispered lightly. Yuffie glanced up at her with a tired gaze and shook her head.

"Don't even ask!" she spat. She really wasn't in the mood to talk. Her body hurt and even though the cura materia had healed her ribs she was still miserable over having her materia stolen for a second time.

"I won't, but are you okay? You look…" Tifa couldn't finish her sentence. She didn't necessarily want to tell Yuffie she looked like she'd been thrown into a dumpster and beaten half to death.

Yuffie noticed Tifa eyeing the blood stains on her clothing, and suddenly realized she all too embarrassed over her defeat that she was in a state of denial. "It was… just a nose bleed," she lied. She winced at the terrible excuse, but she was not in the mood to explain anything.

"A nose bleed?" Tifa put her hands on her hips and Yuffie knew she could see straight through her. She suddenly felt conscious of her appearance and figured she probably should have had a shower and changed her cloths before letting anyone see her.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it," Yuffie said, flatly. She stood up to leave, but Tifa's next statement made her pause.

"Yuffie, if it has anything to do with that silver-haired gang you've got to let me know so that I can tell Cloud. He set out last night to find them in the Forgotten Forest. They've kidnapped Denzel and the other kids!" Tifa said, in a panic. Her eyes were widened with concern for the children, and Yuffie's heart dropped into her chest at the mention of Denzel. She had completely forgotten to take him with her! All she had thought about at the time was getting away with her materia that she hadn't even thought about the kids!

It looked bad for her. Yuffie silently agreed she should say nothing. If she did, Tifa would definitely think she was the most self-centered person in the entire planet… well, she knew of another who topped her without a doubt. She glanced back at Tifa, set on telling a very good lie this time.

"No. What about a silver-haired gang?" Yuffie asked, feigning curiosity and trying to redirect the conversation away from her predicament.

"Reno told me after Cloud had left that these men are after Jenova. They call her mother," Tifa explained, "he said Rufus kept directing them to different places to distract them, but it didn't work after a while. Last night, Kadaj and his brothers kidnapped the kids. We don't know why, but Cloud went to find them at their base and he hasn't come back."

Yuffie felt a pang of guilt as she realized it was Cloud they were firing at last night and she hadn't rushed in to help him. That and the fact she hadn't saved Denzel. She must be the worst friend ever!

Then, snapped out of her thoughts and decided she wanted to know a little more about what was happening. If she wasn't able to help before then, she would most certainly try and help out now.

"Why are they after Jenova?" she asked, a little confused. She remembered back to last night and the speech he had given to the children before he had placed that spell on them.

Tifa sighed and gave her a dark look. Yuffie could tell that her guess was as good as anything. For, Tifa looked just as confused as she replied, "I don't know. I just hope everything with turn out alright."

Yuffie was about to put a positive spin on their conversation and assure her it would be when Tifa spoke again. This time, what she said stunned her into silence.

"Reno said he heard Kadaj say they were remnants of Sephiroth," Tifa looked very distraught at having said that, and Yuffie didn't blame her. Remnants of Sephiroth? So, that explained the silver hair and mako eyes, but… why? What were they doing in Midgar?

She thought back to when Loz and Kadaj had fought her, practically man-handled her, and remembered their strength and speed. Now, she was sure that was the reason behind it. She glanced up at Tifa, trying to look as though all this was new to her, and that she was not remembering what it had been like to see the remnants face to face.

Tifa wasn't watching her though and she was thankful for this. The woman seemed to have her own thoughts to preoccupy her and Yuffie knew she was most likely worried about the children. What was Kadaj planning?

"I'm going to see if Marlene is awake. She was up all night last night," Tifa mumbled.

Yuffie blinked, "What? Why?" she asked, curiously. She was almost certain she knew the answer, but she needed some sort of distraction from her earlier thoughts. Why did everything seem to happen to her? Why couldn't she be like Tifa and stay out of trouble?

Well, she thought in defense to her mental argument, trouble seemed to find her. It wasn't her fault Loz had snatched her materia in the first place. All this wouldn't have happened if he had just left it alone. She sighed and decided that she should probably clean herself up before continuing on with a day that just didn't seem to be ending. She knew that just because Kadaj and his brothers were out of sight, they weren't out of mind and she would need to get her materia back if it was the last thing she did.

"Yuffie," Tifa said, before she headed up the stairs. A hint of curiosity was in her voice, and Yuffie braced herself for a question she really didn't want to answer at the moment. "Where did you go last night?"

Yuffie sighed. "Pfft, looking for materia! But I didn't find anything. What a waste of time!" she replied as casually as she could. Tifa seemed to regard her with mild suspicion, but decided to keep her silence. Yuffie was thankful for this and watched as she left her there, standing in the middle of the bar looking rather tired and confused.

Yuffie glanced down at her hands and realized that the first thing she would need to do was clean up. Then, she would have to retrace her steps to the old church to retrieve her Shuriken. She had a feeling that she would need it if she was ever to get her materia back.

* * *

On the ride into Midgar, Yazoo couldn't help but notice Kadaj return with a box of materia last night. It was then evident to him who he had met up with. There was a small part of him that wanted to know so badly whether or not their brother had killed the ninja or not, but Yazoo knew that if he questioned Kadaj about it he would give away the fact that he wasn't sleeping when he should have been, and Kadaj seemed to regard honesty as his highest value.

Yazoo wasn't concerned though. Kadaj didn't seem at all distracted from the mission. He had sent him and Loz into the heart of the city to where the monument stood so that they could rip it down in search of mother. It was with this thought that Yazoo pushed his curiosity of Kadaj's actions the earlier night out his mind, knowing full well that whatever had happened was not something he should spend too much time worrying about.

After they had assembled the children around the monument, the people of Edge started to crowd around them with looks of disgust. Yazoo did his best to ignore them, and Loz seemed to be simply enjoying the fact he was causing them so much discomfort.

Yazoo didn't really see the point in keeping people away from the monument. Kadaj was obviously not so concerned with the people's safety, so why did he send them there in the first place? To guard it? Yazoo couldn't be certain, but all he knew was that he could feel the excitement of the reunion growing closer.

"How do you sickos justify this!?" one man shouted out from the crowd, shortly seconded by a wave of angry jests and curses. Loz exchanged a glance with Yazoo. Their patience was thinning out, and Yazoo couldn't recall Kadaj specifying anything about not hurting the people.

He figured that while the reunion was in progress, they may as well start the extermination now. He raised his hand at Loz's nod of encouragement and summoned a few beasts to keep the people quite. It worked and he grinned at his handy work, wondering why Kadaj hadn't summoned Bahamut yet.

* * *

"Oi! Get up!" Rude kicked Reno's door open, causing the red-headed man to jump out of bed with a start. Strangely enough his hair didn't look any different and he immediately snapped at Rude, "What was that for!?"

"It's Kadaj, the city center has been surrounded and Elena just called me. President Shinra has been kidnapped!" Rude said, faster than his usual deep voice could handle.

Reno looked at him with an expression that suggested the sky was falling. Without waiting to reply, he dashed from the room, pushing Rude down the stairs in the process. Rude recovered from the tumble as though it never happened, fixed his sunglasses and followed his partner out the door.

* * *

Yuffie pushed open the heavy doors of the church to find the place exactly as she left it. Well, exactly as Loz had left it, she supposed. She stepped toward the flower bed, noticing that most of the flowers seemed to be surviving the brutal disturbance from yesterday. She felt guilty for destroying them. She knew Cloud really liked them, but wasn't quite sure why.

Remembering what she had come for, she spotted her Shuriken lying on the ground where the box of materia used to be. She frowned and picked it up, holding it close to her body, thankful for finally having a weapon again. Now she knew if she ran into Kadaj and his brothers again, considering that she was fully recovered and had a load of cure with her, she could take them on.

She was still rather surprised to find that the silver-haired trio were all remnants of Sephiroth. She had thought they looked alike from the beginning, but she couldn't deny the fact that nobody would ever be like Sephiroth, even if they did try to destroy the world. In her mind, Sephiroth was more than what evil could define. Yuffie figured if she was trapped between Kadaj and Sephiroth, she would take Kadaj any day.

There was one thing she was certain of, though, and that was that Kadaj was _definitely_ cut out for his job. She still hadn't gotten over the fact that she had been outsmarted by him several times now, and it angered her to think she could _ever_ be outsmarted. He was young too, maybe about her age, but definitely younger than Cloud. She pitied him in a way, because she realized if he was just a remnant then his life didn't really have a purpose beyond whatever Sephiroth had planned. What a shame, she thought.

"Why are all the hot guys either taken, gay or evil?" Yuffie complained to the old church benches in front of her. Then she caught herself in mid-blush and decided that it was probably best she hadn't said that at all. It wasn't the only time she was thankful to be alone.

She was distracted from her thoughts when she suddenly heard a very loud engine above her. Her heart sunk when she considered it might be Kadaj and his brothers, but then she heard the faint sound of a propeller. Well, actually, _many_ propellers.

Excitement rushed through her as she realized it must be Cid with Shera and ran from the old church to look up into the sky. Upon finding her suspicions confirmed, she waved her hands wildly in the air to get his attention.

"Finally, _something_ is going right for me!" Yuffie said, happily, as Cid landed Shera in an open area of Midgar to let Yuffie board.

"What are you doin' out here, Yuffie?" Cid greeted upon her arrival in the bridge. She noticed Barret, Red 13 and Cait Syth were also present. Cait seemed to be using Red 13 as a perch, but Red didn't seem to mind.

"I had to… never mind me, what are you doing here?" Yuffie snapped, turning the question around. She wasn't going to let it slip that she had _forgotten_ her weapon at the church. She knew she would never live it down if they ever heard that, and even if she had told them the real reason behind why she had left her Shuriken in Midgar, she assumed the latter would definitely not pass lightly.

"All the action brings us to town!" Cid replied.

"Hm? What do you mean _action_?" Yuffie asked, curiously. Oh, right, Tifa had told them about Kadaj, Yuffie thought. Then her heart dropped as she realized Kadaj and his brothers must be up to something if Tifa had called on the entire crew. She bit her inner lip and hoped she wouldn't have to answer to anything that happened the night before.

"Ready, your stomach! We're takin' off now!" And with that, Yuffie restrained the temptation to throw up as her stomach turned at the feeling. She gripped the railing and stood before the large window watching as the small church grew smaller and smaller.

Something close to a streak of lightning flashed across the sky and parted the clouds above. Yuffie's gaze followed it and watched at the clouds began to circle threateningly above the city. Her heart dropped as she realized it was her materia that was the cause, and therefore one silver-haired thief must be dictating it.

She gritted her teeth and watched as the terrible Bahamut formed out of the sky and nose dived towards the city's center. Yuffie watched in horror as people scattered to avoid its razor-sharp claws as it came in for a crash landing.

"Look at that!" Cait pointed at it with wide eyes, "Yuffie isn't that your materia?"

Yuffie bit her lip and figured that one couldn't have gone unnoticed for too long.

"Uh, I left it with Cloud," Yuffie said. She didn't feel so bad telling _half_ the truth, "I guess he didn't take good enough care of it, that big doof! Now look what's happened!"

Cait gave her a suspicious look, but Yuffie turned her back on him and gripped her Shuriken to her chest nervously. She didn't know why she felt she needed to cover for Kadaj and his brothers, but what she knew was that if the party ever found out she was lying through her teeth to them, they would never forgive her for it.

"Who's got it then?" Barret asked, curiously, knowing full well that Cloud would not be the one to summon a giant dragon on the city.

To this Yuffie only shrugged, and pretended to look stupidly surprised. "Good question," she said, simply, "Ooooh! Whoever it is, they're gonna get a whooping!"

And she felt somewhat relieved that she was being _very_ truthful about the last statement.

* * *

A great blue ball of energy came crashing down on the monument in the center of Edge. Tifa hugged Denzel close and shut her eyes trying her best to keep them both safe from the blast. She felt something large send her and Denzel flying and pain shot up her side when she landed on the cold hard cement.

She felt Denzel move beneath her weight and realized she was laying on him. He shrugged her off and before she knew it she had opened her eyes to see him running madly at the monster with his fist balled, screaming, "Sonofabitch!"

"Denzel!" Tifa cried in panic as Bahamut narrowed in on Denzel with a very large mouth full of teeth. A loud sound of propellers tore her attention to the skies above to see Shera soaring over her head. Her heart rose as she realized Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Red and Cait were parachuting down to help her.

Denzel had been grabbed by Barret firmly and now Bahamut was getting a face full of bullets.

Yuffie turned to Tifa with a grin after having a major wave of nausea. She shrugged it off and said, "We were wondering: who stole my material?"

"The bad guy naturally," Tifa smirked, knowing that Yuffie would run off shouting about how she would hang him later. She smiled and stood back to watch Yuffie go and help Barret. Denzel appeared next to Tifa with a stunned expression on his face.

She found his reaction somewhat odd and figured it might be the lasting effects of the tainted mako. "What's wrong Denzel?" she asked, curiously.

"Doesn't Yuffie know? She was there," he said, genuinely confused.

Tifa blinked, not really understanding his statement. "What do you mean?" she persisted.

"Tifa, Yuffie was kidnapped by those silver-haired guys! I saw her there when I was brought to the Forgotten City," Denzel explained as he watched Yuffie and Barret take Bahamut. Red 13 was now clinging to its face with long claws. Cait was screaming something incomprehensible.

Tifa looked up for Yuffie, mouth half open in surprise at this news. Why hadn't Yuffie said anything to her? No wonder she looked so beaten up this morning. Had Kadaj threatened for her to keep her mouth closed? No, she thought slightly amused, Yuffie and mouth closed, threat or not, would have never worked. Then, _why_?

She was so complete lost in thought she hadn't realized that Denzel had changed the subject to ask Tifa a question about Vincent, who just strode past them mumbling something about a cell phone.

"There our friends," Tifa stated, quietly. Though, some small voice in the back of her head told her that Yuffie had to answer to a few things before she could say that was true. Tifa couldn't deny the fact she was slightly angry at the ninja for hiding, what she considered, very important information. And it struck her when she realized Yuffie had returned to the bar without Denzel – she had simply left him there?

Yuffie definitely had some explaining to do.

* * *

Kadaj was thoroughly enjoying the entertainment of watching the humans struggle to defeat Bahamut. He smirked to himself as the giant soared into the sky with a ball of energy seething between its teeth. He could feel its power fading, and he hoped it would at least finish off the party of fighters beneath it, but he knew that was a slim chance.

Kadaj could sense Cloud there. His strength was all too much for the giant bird, and Kadaj was slightly irritated that he hadn't foreseen how quickly the man could progress in power. It didn't make any sense to Kadaj, as he watched Bahamut fall from the sky defeated. Cloud was human, how could he possess such power without the aid of mother? _And_ to top it off, he was infected by mother's mimetic legacy!

Kadaj felt Bahamut's power cease completely and feigned a grin of excitement to the President seated before him. Kadaj turned away momentarily to hide the frustration in his eyes. The materia was a toy, but he did not expect Bahamut to fail completely.

"This is all to fun, sir!" Kadaj said, he had to fight to control his voice. His fury was ignited and one more rub the wrong way and Kadaj knew he would explode.

"Any requests for the next act?" He turned back around just in time to see the President stand up before him and throw his cover aside. Obviously, he was sick of watching and preferred to partake. Kadaj would have smirked if his eyes hadn't registered what was in the President's hand.

Kadaj watched with a fearful gaze, he could feel the anger ripping through him as he realized he was tricked yet again.

"A good son would have known," said Rufus moments before he threw Kadaj's entire life's purpose off the side of the twenty story building.

Realization hit like a stone. Furious, Kadaj pitched a ball of magic at the President, missing him by inches. The man fell sideways gracefully, and Kadaj, oblivious to the explosive flames about to engulf the entire floor of the building, spotted the Jenova box falling toward the cement below. His heart hammered in his chest and his blood rushed to his forehead as he nose dived after it without a second thought. Loose mother, loose everything.

"Mother!" He cried as he threw himself from the building, careless of the bullets being fired at him from the President's hidden pistol.

One narrowly missed Kadaj's ear and he winced as he felt the wind from it grace his cheek, but his heart jumped into his throat when he watched the bullet strike mother across the seal tape. He gritted his teeth and widened his eyes in terror, hoping it wasn't over yet. Mother could not be destroyed so easily.

His fingertips brushed the side of the box, excitement rose up in his chest, grabbing hold of it, Kadaj made a quick save and landed rather gracefully. Somewhere above him the President had been caught, but Kadaj gave no notice.

He silently examined mother with the gentleness one would give towards a newborn child and realized with horror that the box was damaged. How could he have let that happen?

Yazoo and Loz were restraining the Turks, but as soon as Kadaj realized anything about his surroundings he immediately sensed a new threat coming his way. He didn't even need to glance up to know that Cloud was after him.

Standing swiftly he mounted his bike and tore off through the crowded street with both his brothers and Cloud following closely behind. Kadaj was very aware of the Jenova box nestled safely under his arm. He could sense the power from it, more potent than he had ever felt before. His excitement rose as he realized the reunion was so close. All Kadaj had to do was get rid of Cloud and find a quiet place where he could await his mother's orders.

The old church was the perfect place to do so, he thought.

* * *

Yuffie and the rest of the party cheered as Bahamut's remains evaporated back into the lifestream. The terror was over for a time, she hoped. She noticed Cloud take off on his bike as quickly as he had arrived, and for what reason was beyond her. As far as she knew the fight was over and that was that.

But what about Kadaj? Yuffie knew Kadaj had been behind the summoning of Bahamut. There was no doubt in her mind the silver-haired fighter appear again, perhaps with another one of her materia orbs in hand to wreck havoc on the city. She gritted her teeth in frustration, thinking she probably she have turned back to retrieve her materia before all this could happen.

"Yuffie, can I ask you something?" Tifa was regarding her with mild curiosity, a look that Yuffie had come to be weary over.

Yet, she hoped Tifa didn't want to talk long. Yuffie had a prior engagement. She may have let Kadaj get away with her materia once, but that was only because she had been injured. This time, she planned on outsmarting the bastard herself and taking back what was hers. Maybe she'd give him a hard kick for good measure.

"Sure, but make it quick! I gotta go, Tifa!" Yuffie said. She winced inwardly when she realized the suspicious flare cross Tifa's face. She didn't like that look at all and she wondered what Tifa had to say.

"Denzel told me that he saw you in the Forgotten City last night," Tifa said. Her tone was stony and terribly serious. Her eyes were hard as though she not only intended to see through Yuffie's lies, but _force_ her to tell the truth. Yuffies heart hit rock bottom as she said this.

Of course, how could she have been so stupid to forget Denzel would have said something to Cloud or Tifa when he got back? Did she think she could get away with it forever?

She swallowed. She was very aware that her nervousness showed though every inch of her face, and Tifa's gaze hardened even more. She didn't even need to answer that question before Tifa was speaking again. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. This time, Yuffie sensed her disappointment.

"I, uh, I…" at first, the question seemed quite straight forward, but Yuffie soon realized that she didn't really have a good answer to it. She could feel the heat escaping into her cheeks and dropped her gaze thoughtfully. Tifa waited silently for an answer she couldn't give.

Why had she kept it from them? She was kidnapped for crying out loud and yet she felt she needed to hid something from her friends. At first Yuffie thought it was the lasting effects of Kadaj's persuasion that was making her like this, but then after thinking about it a little more she knew it wasn't that. It was something entirely different. Something she couldn't explain.

With that thought, Yuffie took a deep breath. She knew she would never live this down, but she had to do it to save her ego. Not being able to answer a rather straightforward question was just not her thing.

"Oh, um, I'll tell you later, okay? I really gotta go! Bye!" Yuffie blurted before Tifa could protest. Yuffie knew her face was beat red, but she ignored it.

Instead, she turned and as fast as she could jumped down into the street amongst the crowd of confused bystanders. Her first thought was where to go, and seeing that if she went to Seventh Heaven right away Tifa would only follow her and beat the answer out of her, so Yuffie decided that the old church in Midgar was the perfect place for her to have peace.

Running as fast as she could, Yuffie took a short-cut through Edge and headed in the direction of Midgar with her Shuriken swinging wildly in her hand and her head buzzing with the question Tifa had asked.

* * *

Kadaj had mother and the reunion was coming. Yazoo was excited for all of them. Most of all he was happy that he would finally be at peace with their mother. After all the restless nights and brutal searches, everything they had worked so hard to achieve would be accomplished.

But what would happen to Kadaj? It wasn't the first time Yazoo had asked that question in his mind. It unnerved him somewhat to think that there was so much they didn't know about the reunion and so much mother was not telling them. Yazoo was not a fool. He wasn't certain, but he knew the outcome of the reunion would be the downfall of Kadaj.

If he was right in assuming that, then did Kadaj know this? Yazoo knew that his younger brother usually walked blindly into things as long as mother was directing him, and for some strange reason he suspected Kadaj had no idea.

Another question appeared and Yazoo was struck by the significance of his way of thinking: if Kadaj knew, would he still want the reunion? Did any of them if they were going to die for it?

These questions were only versions of some that Yazoo had mulled over in the last few days or so. He was curious to know more about their mission and less enthusiastic about getting to the end of it than either of his brothers. Perhaps that was why mother visited Kadaj and not him. Kadaj would follow without question, while he…

Yazoo tore away from his thoughts in that moment to strike at Cloud, locking blades with him for a second or so. Their eyes met and Yazoo could see Cloud was fighting for something and he didn't really know what it was, and it shocked Yazoo as he realized the feeling was mutual.

Neither really knew what they were fighting for and they were still willing to give their lives in its defense, whatever it was.

He broke away from Cloud and his bike spun before he could control it again. He and Loz raced after Cloud and entered a highway tunnel where the fight ensued yet again.

It wasn't until Loz lost his bike to Clouds buster sword and joined Yazoo on the remaining motorcycle that they realized the fight was won, and not by them. Frustrated, Yazoo tossed his destroyed firearm to the ground and started the motor. Loz sat stiffly on the back as the engine fired up. They took off through the first half of the tunnel, but Cloud was already far ahead of them.

Then, without any explanation at all, the engine gave a sudden burp and died.

Yazoo looked down at the speedometer to see that the accelerator was having no effect on the engine. Loz looked over his shoulder with a confused expression. Neither of them knew anything about mechanics.

"What's wrong with it, Yazoo?" he asked in shock as they came to a rolling stop in the middle of the tunnel.

However, Yazoo only had enough time to glance up at his older brother with a matching expression before a loud explosion tore through the opposite end of the tunnel. Not even bothering to look where it had come from, Yazoo and Loz dived to the ground and covered their heads with their arms as a wave of dust brushed lightly over them.

When it was over, Yazoo glanced up and blinked. The explosion had completely destroyed the end of the tunnel, caving it in on one side. They would not be able to follow Cloud or their brother any longer unless they found an alternate route. Yazoo was somewhat irritated about this, but the first thing that came to his mind was that dying engine had probably saved both their lives.

* * *

It was more than what could have been said for Cloud. Not realizing that Rude and Reno had positioned themselves at the end of the tunnel with multi-explosives, he had been thrown from the blast. His bike had landed some feet away from him as he crashed to the ground on his sore arm and rolled until the friction had stopped him.

He gasped in pain as it shot through his forearm. He could feel his bones in his leg give under the pressure of him falling and he lied there for a moment with his eyes closed to the sun letting the pain ebb slowly.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard his bike give a ragged cough and die. Rushed footsteps were approaching him and he figured Rude and Reno probably thought they had killed the person who could stop Kadaj.

They didn't realize that there may be one other.

* * *

His bike roared to a stop as he skidded into the patch of flowers. Kadaj was immediately basked in sunlight as it flooded in through the open roof. His hair shone like pure silver and the mako glowed in his iris with terrible power. He may have looked like some majestic being, but his eyes flashed with malice.

The church was exactly how he had imagined: quiet and peaceful. He would be able to unit with mother there. Excitement flooded him again and he held the box out to view.

Like a ton of rocks had been dropped on him, his heart was crushed at the sight of the large gash in the side of his mother's cage. Rage and panic struck him as he realized the reunion would be less effective if not completely void.

Kadaj let out a cry of fury mixed with deep sadness and guilt. He had never felt so torn, so emotionally pained. For a moment a part of him knew the reunion would never come. He could feel his mother's presence loud and clear, her anger boiling like magma about to explode. He winced inwardly at the feeling of her need to punish him for his incompetence.

He was about to apologize, plead for her forgiveness when a sound out side the wooden double doors tore him away from his thoughts.

Cloud.

Kadaj panicked, but as the sound came closer he noticed he couldn't sense Cloud near at all. He braced himself, and slid Souba silently from the sheath. He was posed, ready for a final stand.

The doors opened to reveal someone Kadaj least expected and truly detested. The ninja stood, stunned in the doorway of the church. She rightly dropped her Shuriken to the floor in surprise and didn't even move to pick it up. Her eyes were glued to Kadaj who was still seated on his bike, cradling a black box.

Upon seeing him there, not much passed her mind except the thought to turn right around and make a dash for her life. But something kept her there, staring back at him as though he was no threat at all. His twin katana was posed behind his body, he looked as though if she made one more step into the church he would decapitate her then and there.

It took a moment for either of them to say anything, but Kadaj was the first to speak and what he said wasn't exactly what Yuffie would have called a fair greeting.

"Go _away_!" he hissed. His voice was layered with a warning Yuffie could not ignore. But, she had faced worse, and she wasn't about to let him take her materia from her again.

"Not until you tell me where you hid my materia!" she snarled back, ducking to pick up her Shuriken.

It was a wrong mistake on her part. Before she could even blink, he had moved with such speed and pinned her to the back of one of the double doors with his katana pressed firmly against her neck. She could feel the cold steel pressing into her skin and gave an unintentional squeak of surprise.

"I said for you to _leave_!" he whispered menacingly at her, his eyes flashing dimly in the shadow. His hair covered the other half of his face and Yuffie could barely point out he needed a haircut let alone _breathe_ with the pressure he was putting on her windpipe.

"I can tell…" she gasped, "you're not a… people person."

Kadaj's glare narrowed his eyes at her darkly. Not wanting to waste time on her, he turned swiftly, grabbing her vest collar and threw her with all his might across the church so that she landed brutally in the flower bed. She grunted as she stood back up and realized with a start that she had dropped her Shuriken at Kadaj's feet. She eyed it desperately, but knew there was no way to retrieve it without getting beat up first.

"Hey, you know, you could really use some lessons in etiquette! That is _not_ how you treat a lady!" Yuffie shouted, balling up her fists in frustration. She wasn't afraid of him. To her, Kadaj was just a sixteen year old with parent issues, and she wasn't going to let herself get kicked around by him.

"A _lady_?" Kadaj mocked, a grin spread across his features, and he turned to face her slowly. His twin katana hung in his grip patiently and his eyes flashed with excitement. He still cradled the Jenova box under one of his arms protectively like it was his life.

Yuffie scowled at him and he let out a soft chuckle at her expression. "Stop laughing! You don't know who you're dealing with! I'm –,"

"We've already been through this," Kadaj said, with a hint of irritation, "I don't want to listen to you anymore."

Yuffie frowned and shook with anger over his interruption. She would have started to snap at him more, but her eyes caught a flash of blue on his wrist as the materia he had equipped there shone brightly. He raised his hand up over his head and gave her sly grin.

Before Yuffie could think of what to do, she rushed forward and tackled Kadaj. A ball of magic passed over her head as he let it fly. At the same time her face crashed into Kadaj's chest, the materia exploded behind her with a loud bang. Both Yuffie and Kadaj were pushed off their feet from it and once they hit the ground they were layered in debris from the explosion.

Kadaj was laying a little further back, having been pushed by Yuffie as well, and he just blinked and stood up. He cradled mother closer to him with a glare that told Yuffie she should say her last words if she even went near the box.

Yuffie was struggling to get up, she glance at Kadaj through the dust in the air and found that he wasn't even looking at her but over her. Curious, she peeked over her shoulder to see something she never thought she'd see before.

Water was seeping through the flower bed from a crater created by the explosion. As though it had a will of its own, it rose above the surface, swirling and dancing. It rose high enough until it reached the ceiling and spread out, raining down on Yuffie and Kadaj in fair amounts.

Yuffie found that it was rather warm and comfortable. Remembering that Kadaj was still behind her, she turned to find him thrashing his arms about his head to keep the water off. Jenova's head was still close to his body, but Yuffie realized with a start that a green hue was escaping through a broken seal in the box as the water dripped inside.

Figuring that now was her chance, and not really knowing why Kadaj was acting like that towards the water, Yuffie pounced at Kadaj, who was too distracted and disgusted by the water to notice her actions. It took him by surprise, and they both stumbled back, breaking through the church doors and collapsed into the dusty street of Midgar.

Yuffie winced as they hit the ground and didn't realize as she opened her eyes that she was laying on Kadaj, who was rather still. Her eyes widened when she thought that she had probably killed him, but then noticed his eyes were still open, staring at the sky.

Yuffie was struck by the blank look in his eyes opposed to the glare that had been there before, and shuddered at the thought of it returning. Instead she noted the sadness and disappointment in his new expression, and she didn't much like that either.

Before she could say anything to him, he spoke. His voice was deathly calm and Yuffie shivered at the icy tone. "Get _off_ of me." He said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Yuffie said, and then caught herself. This was the enemy! What was she doing? "Hey, wait a second! What are you playing at? First, you try and kill me and now you're all passive and stuff! What's the big idea!?"

The flare of anger returned to his gaze for a moment and he shoved her off him. "I said _get off_!" he snarled.

He sat up and dropped his gaze onto the box with a look of terror. Yuffie stood up and readied herself for another attack, but was shocked when he said, "Mother…?"

She watched him open the sealed box and gasp at the findings. Wondering what was inside, Yuffie's curiosity got the better of her and she peered over his shoulder to see that the inside was completely empty.

"No…" was all Kadaj breathed, it was so quiet. His tone sounded as broken as his heart and Yuffie watched with wide eyes as the man who tried to kill her started to shake and tremble.

Before she knew it, Kadaj burst into a loud fit of tears and she found that this was possibly one of the more awkward moments of her life. She thought about comforting him, but she knew given his temperament, he would probably beat her for it. Instead she could do nothing but stand there and relocate her Shuriken with her eyes just in case the scene turned deadly.

A moment passed, Kadaj stopped his tears and seemed only to be in deep thought. Then, just as Yuffie thought she might try and escape without him noticing, he spoke. His back was turned to her, but Yuffie didn't need to see his face to know that he was absolutely furious.

"This is all _your_ fault!" he snarled, dangerously. Again, Yuffie's eyes found her Shuriken laying, what seemed, a half mile away from her. She glanced back at Kadaj again and realized his cold gaze was staring at her, a scowl was on his face. "Oh, and," he said, "you will _never_ be getting your materia back!"


	4. Incomplete

**A/N: I'm pleased to see that people are R&Ring. As for the typos, I'll go over the story when I've finished it ********, and thanks for letting me know! I have to give some credit to Tempi-chan for some of her ideas. I've been on a brutal writers block, so this definitely helps. Thanks again!**

Chapter 4: Incomplete

A tempest surged wildly towards them from the horizon. Its great black clouds and roaring thunder seemed to reflect the unsettled feeling that Kadaj had in his stomach. Upon discovering mother to have been released back to the lifesteam he had ultimately felt sick, furious and terribly guilty. Not only had it been his fault, but now the reunion was lost completely and mother would be angered beyond anything.

He had literally screamed over the top of the open box, letting his pent up anger and frustration escape his soul, but it did nothing. In fact, it only made him angrier. He was a failure; completely and utterly incompetent. He may have as well passed mother on to Loz and tell him to get on with it.

Guilt and helplessness swelled in his chest and before he knew it, Kadaj was glaring at the only person available to glare at.

Yuffie could feel his cold gaze boring into her soul and sucking all the happiness from her. She knew if there was one time she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time this was it. She could almost see Kadaj's anger radiating waves from his body, as if he was suddenly heating up with the fiery fury within him.

Oh, wait, shit!

Yuffie dived out of the way as another ball of magic flew at her. Realizing that Kadaj was not one to fool around, and that if she didn't get out of his way soon, he would most likely kill he, Yuffie jumped to her feet after the fall and lunged for her Shuriken.

While she was in mid-jump, Kadaj had unsheathed his twin katana and raced towards her. His eyes narrowed maliciously on her lean frame as she picked up her weapon just in time to block his attack. They locked blades and he didn't tear his eyes from her. She pushed against his sword, but he was too strong. She grunted as she was thrown backwards.

She managed to land on her feet, but wasn't quick enough to dodge his next swing. She felt the stinging sensation in her hip, closely followed by warmness as her own blood ran down her side. She gritted her teeth and forgetting all sorts the etiquette of battle, used her free hand to grab at his amazing silver hair while he was still in arms reach.

He let out a hiss and pushed her arm away from him making yet another attempt at decapitating her. Yuffie just ducked under that and jumped quickly away from him to catch her breath. Her side was still bleeding and she felt rather light headed from the blood loss.

He noticed this, but didn't seem to care. He flew at her as she jumped back and landed a well aimed punch in her wound. Just as he thought, she buckled and landed on the church floor, wincing at the pain he'd caused her.

Kadaj stood baring his teeth and watching her struggle before him on the ground. In his mind, he was contemplating killing her slowly and causing as much pain as she deserved. He thought he would thoroughly enjoy watching her squirm and thought that he might just then see a flicker of fear in her eyes.

Yuffie glared back up at him and growled, "That hurt, you jerk!"

Kadaj didn't reply. His malicious glare was set on her slowly bleeding body, taking in the joy of his work. Never would this human bother him again after this. Yet, her attitude towards him was unnerving him to the point of curiosity. He had expected her to be begging for her life at this point, but instead she insisted on retaliation. Somehow, this thrilled him, and a small part of him was somewhat relieved to know that there were some humans that met his high standard. It satisfied him to discover that there was a challenge for him, and it wasn't Cloud.

He supposed that mother may have been wrong about the human race in saying that none could be as superior as herself, and it struck him as he realized with a faint tinge of guilt that perhaps a select few could not be in that said category. Cloud was apart of this group of humans who were deserving of mothers love, Kadaj seemed to respect but to a point.

Kadaj grinned at this thought, and drew Souba to Yuffie's throat as she lay on the ground rather helpless. There was an angry glare in her eyes, and it intrigued him. Perhaps, the ninja had some potential? He thought obscurely.

Yuffie noticed Kadaj's hesitation and decided to poke at it a little bit. She knew she was pushing her luck, but at the same time she was lucky she hadn't died already. She figured that same luck would pull her through this somehow. She was just not ready to die, she thought, and certainly not to the hands of someone who barely surpassed her in height!

"I've been going easy on you, but now you're just pissing me off!" Yuffie shouted at him. She could feel the burning sting in her side where he had cut her, but chose to ignore it. Kadaj narrowed his gaze once more onto her, and Yuffie figured the sooner she acted the better lest she loose her head to his, what did he call it before? Oh, yeah, _Souba_.

Before she realized, Kadaj had readied a strike at her. She moved faster than she normally would have, picking up her Shuriken, their weapons met with a loud ring of steal. Yuffie sighed in slight relief, but the fight wasn't over yet, and Kadaj had already pulled out of her defense.

His eyes flashed darkly just as a strike of lightning passed overhead. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the clouds, casting everything in shadow. Yuffie took this short moment to stand up and steady herself before Kadaj attacked her again. Their eyes met and a short moment seemed to pass between them as they contemplated on what to do next.

"Brother?" Both Kadaj and Yuffie spun around to see Yazoo and Loz standing in the church doorway. They looked as though they had ran a marathon; Loz was doubled over panting and Yazoo's face was rather shiny with sweat. He eyed his younger brother suspiciously, noticing the mako tainted water and Kadaj's empty hands. "Where's mother?" Yazoo asked, careful not to sound so accusing.

Kadaj felt the guilt settle in the bottom of his stomach and knew that whatever he told Yazoo to sugar-coat the truth would not work one bit. Feeling that he may as well direct their potential anger onto another target to save himself, Kadaj spun back around expecting to see the ninja still standing there. Instead, she was gone. His heart dropped and he could feel the color draining from the surface skin of his face.

"Where did she go?" Kadaj spat, glancing over his shoulder at his brothers in hopes of avoiding Yazoo's question. They must have seen where she went.

Yazoo and Loz both looked confused. "Who?" Yazoo asked. There was a hint of irritation in his voice and Kadaj didn't like it one bit.

"That girl! She was just here! You must have seen her leave?" Kadaj snapped. At his brother's confused expressions, Kadaj almost considered that he was going insane. The death of mother had hit him hard, but he didn't think he would have started hallucinating.

"Kadaj," Yazoo sighed, getting slightly frustrated with his brother's tiresome antics, "You haven't answered my first question?"

Kadaj was seriously contemplating jumping into the mako tainted pool of water only a couple feet away from him where the flower bed had once been. At least then he'd be with mother. She would punish him for his incompetence, but it would be no different than if he lived. Every night she would visit him and torture him for failing on her. Life or death neither was very tempting at the moment.

"She's gone," Kadaj said, although very quietly. Loz started to cry. Yazoo was so stunned he forgot to tell him to stop his crying. He gazed at Kadaj with wide eyes as though he was not about to believe what Kadaj had just said.

"What do you mean, brother?" Yazoo asked, rather slowly. Kadaj gritted his teeth and glared down at the floorboards beneath his feet. Did Yazoo really want him to say it again? It was like speaking it made it real, confirmed her defeat, _their_ defeat.

No! He wouldn't believe it! All that planning and all the suffering over his mothers will, only to have it all end without the joy of reuniting with mother!? It must be a mistake! There must be more of mother somewhere. She just couldn't be gone. Not for long. Kadaj would find her. And within that thought, determination burned though his entire being. He gazed back up at his brothers with a look that purely stated he was not going to give up.

Then, a thought struck him.

"We need to find that girl, Yazoo," Kadaj said, immediately. His brothers were taken aback by the sudden change of attitude. Loz stopped crying and wiped his nose on the back of his hand, and Yazoo's gaze narrowed studiously.

Yazoo wondered what his brother was up to now. "What does the girl have to do with it, Kadaj? I thought we weren't involving the humans? They're not important. I thought you said mother is –,"

"_Don't_!" Kadaj growled, "I'll find another way!"

"This was our only chance at a reunion!" Yazoo said, his voice breaking the calm tone he always held, cracking just slightly with frustration and sadness.

"Don't fight, please, don't fight," Loz said, his eyes filled with remorse. First, mother died and left them destined to a planet not worth the dirt on his shoes and now his brothers were fighting.

Kadaj and Yazoo ignored Loz.

"This was _not_ our only chance!" Kadaj snarled, "Mother can't be gone!"

"That was the only part of mother we had left, the planet has destroyed the rest, and now you have –," Yazoo could not confine his temper.

"It's _not_ my _fault_!" Kadaj snapped, angrily.

"Mother trusted you, Kadaj," Yazoo said, trying to get control on his voice, "That's why it's your fault."

Kadaj looked as though he could have ripped Yazoo to tiny shreds if mother permitted. Instead, he knew they depended on each other for survival – one dies and they all go back into the lifestream. That was how mother created them. They were not complete without each other, and that is why Kadaj had always hated Sephiroth. He was jealous of him. He was independent, while Kadaj and his brothers were not. They were incomplete.

Yazoo noted Kadaj's silence, and after a time watched as the younger siblings expression faded from fury to sadness. He looked completely lost and neither Yazoo nor Loz knew how to comfort him. In all Yazoo's observance, he had seen how humans comforted each other in a crisis and how they cried when something terrible happened. He had never thought he and his brothers would need comfort like that, besides that was for the humans and they were weak… right?

Deciding to test his assumption about human emotions, Yazoo glanced over at Loz, who was still getting over his crying. Humans knew when they were sad or happy and why they felt that way. Yazoo wondered if he or his brothers would be able to feel the same, and if they did, did that make them any different?

"Loz, why do you cry?" Both Loz and Kadaj cocked an eyebrow at the question, but before Kadaj could say anything to retaliate and tell Yazoo he was wasting time, Loz seemed to think about it.

"Um… I don't know," he said, rather slowly.

Yazoo nodded thoughtfully and turned away. Maybe he was the only one of his brothers who knew why Loz cried? Had he been the only one to feel emotion? Maybe they felt it, but couldn't define it? He knew then that Kadaj could feel anger, but maybe he didn't know what it was. And if he felt anger, could he also feel joy? Had he ever?

"Stop wasting time, Yazoo," Kadaj said, through gritted teeth, oblivious to what his older brother was musing about, "We must figure out a way to join with mother again. There's got to be another way!"

Then, Yazoo thought of another question. If mother was still around, Kadaj would be able to sense her, wouldn't he? If he did sense her, then there was still a chance of reunion.

"Hey, Kadaj? Can you feel mother's presence there?" Yazoo asked, curiously.

Kadaj looked up at him with a cold glare. "Of course, I –," He stopped before he could finish his sentence, realizing that the slight pull in the back of his mind that had always been there was missing. This stunned him and scared him, even though he would have never admitted it.

Yazoo seemed to know what his brother was feeling even if Kadaj hadn't finished his sentence. Though his face was indifferent as always, Yazoo was terribly concerned for his younger sibling and his eyes reflected that concern strongly.

Kadaj was confused. He had never been so unsettled since he woke up under a flood of florescent lights with men in white coats huddled around him in awe. He would never forget that day; the day mother found him and contacted him, telling him to find his brothers and escape to find her.

He sheathed Souba and reluctantly gave a long sigh. "Mother is gone," he said, after a moment. It almost pained him to say so. "She has left me. I can't hear her anymore."

"What should we do?" Loz asked with wide eyes. Each of the remnants was confused and rather terrified at the thought of having to survive without mother telling them what to do every step of the way.

Kadaj was the first to answer. He didn't know exactly what to do, but he knew they couldn't stay where they were. Cloud would find them soon, and given Kadaj's current state of mind, they wouldn't have a chance against him.

"Let's go back to our base," he said. His voice was low and uncertain, but he knew that whatever they did, it would be better than staying at the church. Yazoo and Loz both nodded their agreement, and followed Kadaj out into the street. There Kadaj stood for a moment staring down at the empty box laying in the sand. He had thrown it angrily to the side when he discovered it empty, realizing now that the anger he had felt before was somehow gone completely. Now, he felt strangely disconnected from everything. Even at Loz's random mumbles about mother as they walked, Kadaj felt nothing; not sadness, not excitement, not even fear.

And then, as they walked silently onward listening to the thunder clap its forceful hands over their heads, each wondered how they would survive now that they were purposeless.

* * *

As soon as Kadaj had turned his back, Yuffie had grabbed her Shuriken and ducked behind a row of broken church benches. She had stayed still and listened and hoped that Kadaj wouldn't find her there. After a brief argument with his brother, he seemed to have forgotten about her completely, and Yuffie was grateful for this. She was in the middle of willing them away, when their conversation seemed to get interesting. She couldn't see their faces, but there was no denying the anger and frustration in all their voices.

They sounded lost to her, and Kadaj most of all.

"Of course, I –," As Kadaj's voice faltered and died, Yuffie daringly peered around the armrest of one of the benches to get a look of his face. She was disappointed to find that she couldn't see his eyes threw his fallen silver locks, but she heard the desperation in his voice, and knew he was struggling to reason with what he was feeling.

When the conversation finally came to a close and Kadaj and his brothers left the church, Yuffie let out the breath she'd been holding and stretched out her legs. "That was a close one," she said, quietly. She picked absently at a loose boot string before realizing her side was still open and sore. The bleeding had stopped, but her shirt and skirt were completely destroyed and stained crimson.

"Great. These were brand new too!" she sighed, "I guess I'm going to have to change soon."

She blinked when she realized she didn't have any cure and cursed herself again for her carelessness. She knew she couldn't go back to the bar and ask for it, because Tifa would probably hold the cure hostage until she had tortured every detail from her. Not that Yuffie had anything to tell, but she knew Tifa was just so nosy she needed to know everything about her life. Well, she's probably just concerned, Yuffie thought. Even with that in mind, she didn't feel like telling Tifa what had happened. Yuffie still felt bad enough about leaving Denzel behind and not helping Cloud, she didn't need another guilt trip, and she knew that's exactly what Tifa would send her on.

Nope, she thought, she would have to try and get her materia back from Kadaj. She knew she was really pushing the limit, but it was either get her materia or face the crew back at the bar. Neither one was very tempting, but she figured her luck couldn't get any worse than this and she strongly believed that once she hit rock bottom there was nowhere to go but up. Well, Yuffie thought, considering her situation, this was definitely rock bottom.

She stood up with some difficulty and leaned on the church bench heavily. The pain in her side was excruciating, but she refused to make a sound, just in case Kadaj and his brothers were still outside.

She didn't know how she was going to walk all that way to the Forgotten City with an injury like this, but she would try. She had survived worst, she thought. Then, she spotted Kadaj's bike still parked next to where the flower bed used to be. She frowned, thinking about her motion sickness, but she figured it was either that or bleed to death.

Mounting the bike with a wounded side was difficult, but she managed it and eventually started the engine. She stuffed her Shuriken in front of her and leaned forward. She pressed on the gas and felt the bike move forward a bit. Her stomach gave a slight groan, but she held it back and took a deep breath. She would have to deal with it and hold it down.

"Come on, you can do this!" she said, enthusiastically. With a sharp gasp, she hit the gas and broke through the double doors of the church. She skidded to a stop just outside in the street and peered around. She didn't see anything silver in her line of vision, and hoped they were already on their way to the glowing forest.

Yuffie gulped and readied herself for another burst of speed. Hitting the gas she flew forward again, but stopped a few yards away to settle her stomach. She knew it would be a long trip, but she figured that if she stopped every once and a while, she would make it.

* * *

Cloud had been flown back to Seventh Heaven and Tifa had rushed to him, looking extremely worried and confused. The rest of AVALANCHE was watching Reno and Rude with accusing glares. Cloud had told them what happened, and he was set on healing up and heading back out in search of Kadaj.

"He's got Jenova, there's no stopping him now!" He was telling a worried-looking Tifa. Denzel and Marlene hid behind each of Barret's elephant-thick legs, while Vincent watched the scene with a steady gaze. Red and Cait were silently listening, and Cid was leaning on his spear.

"Then we should go after him!" he said, enthusiastically, "You leave it up to us!"

"We can't have him destroying the planet, it's our home," Red said in agreement.

"But what about Yuffie?" Tifa suddenly asked. Cloud exchanged a look with Tifa. Tifa knew none of them knew about Yuffie being kidnapped by Kadaj, and decided it was better sooner than later that she told them.

"I was wondering where that girl went?" Cid said, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen Yuffie at all since after they defeated Bahamut.

Tifa did wonder where Yuffie had gone. It unnerved her to think she was involved in any way with Kadaj's mission, and it was unbelievable all the same. Tifa didn't think Yuffie would do such a thing. She didn't have a gain in it and she would never go against her friends. She knew the ninja could get herself wrapped up into things that she couldn't get out of on her own, and Tifa hoped it was just that.

"I think she's gotten herself into some trouble," Tifa said, and started to explain what Denzel had told her about seeing Yuffie in the Forgotten City and Yuffie completely avoiding answering her question after they defeated Kadaj's Bahamut. As she explained this to the crew, Tifa realized how suspect it all sounded and wondered whether Yuffie was really in trouble or if she was hiding the fact that she was helping Kadaj out of her free will. But that option was completely ridiculous and Tifa knew it. Yuffie didn't have a reason to help Kadaj.

When she had finished explaining this to the group, they seemed to have the same suspicions as she did. "Why would Yuffie do that?" Cid asked, confused.

"What could she be thinking?" Barret mumbled thoughtfully.

Vincent was silent, but Tifa knew he was as unnerved as the rest of them. Cloud glanced over at her and said, "We should go and talk to Rufus. Maybe he knows something we don't?"

Vincent's red-wine gaze traveled to Reno and Rude. "You wouldn't know?" he said flatly. They shook their heads in reply.

"Nope," Reno said, leaning from side to side. That fall he had taken earlier was really making his legs hurt. He had to face it: he was getting too old for this type of shit. "We don't know anything about nothing. You'd have to speak to the boss."

"Then take us to him," Vincent said, coolly, glancing down at Cloud's broken leg, and added, "you owe us that much."

Reno seemed to ignore Vincent's threat and said, "We're going there anyways. Hitch a ride if you want, but this will only fit two extra people. We leave in five."

Reno and Rude jumped back into the pilot seats after that, leaving the party to decide who went with them to see Rufus. Reno's phone rang, cutting through the silence, he answered it and turned away from them. Tifa looked at Cloud and nodded slowly.

"I'll go and get some cura for you," she said, and immediately ran off into the bar.

Cloud knew he should be the one to go. If Sephiroth showed up again, he was the only one who was able to stop him and the party knew this. But, he knew he would need some help. He looked expectantly up at Vincent, who darkened his gaze and looked away. Cloud figured he would have to say something to get his attention.

"Vincent –,"

"I have no desire to visit with Shinra," Vincent said immediately. His gaze hardened and Cloud knew not to push him. He was about to ask Barret, when Vincent seemed to reconsider. "But, if you feel I would be of help, then I will go."

Cloud nodded. He had nothing more to say than that. They waited in silence until Tifa brought him the cura. It fixed the bones in his leg, but he was still rather stiff in the joints and he knew it would take a few days for the ache in his muscles to fade.

"The boss is at the Healin' Lodge," Reno announced stuffing his phone back into his jacket.

"Please be careful," Tifa said, as Cloud and Vincent got into the helicopter, "and if you see Yuffie, tell her to come back to Seventh Heaven! I need to have a word with that girl!"

The chopper blades drowned out her last few words, but Cloud knew what she had said. They lifted off, and everyone seemed to shrink below them, shrinking smaller and smaller. Cloud closed the sliding side door and turned to Vincent, who was watching out the small window on the other side. He seemed deep in thought. Reno and Rude were too busy piloting to notice them. Cloud sat down on the rough bench and stretched out his sore legs.

"Do you think what Tifa said about Yuffie is true?" Cloud asked, still slightly surprised that their friend would lie to them about something so important.

"Tifa doesn't have any real proof, but Yuffie's actions are suspicious," Vincent said, flatly.

"Hmph." Cloud looked down at his right arm, feeling a slight itch, to find it had been cut deeply. The cura was still working its way through his body, and he watched as the skin slowly sealed itself together until the cut was nonexistent.

"I say that Yuffie's gone and tangled herself in a mess she can't get out of, and she won't admit it to anyone," Vincent mumbled.

"Tifa said she was kidnapped," Cloud replied, slowly. He still couldn't understand why she hadn't told any of them about it. There was a bit of turbulence, but they sat through it without fretting.

After the wind died down, Vincent shot Cloud a suspicious look. "Kidnapped?" he repeated.

"Yeah," Cloud nodded, "Denzel saw her when they took him."

"She looked fine," Vincent commented.

Cloud gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"If Kadaj and his brothers are capable of torturing people half to death like they did to Elena," Vincent explained. His tone was indifferent, like he assumed Cloud should have caught on by this time. When Cloud said nothing, he continued, "then Yuffie was extremely lucky. It didn't look like they even laid a hand on her when I saw her."

Cloud nodded in silent agreement. Vincent was right. Yuffie didn't look bad except for the occasional bruising which he simply associated Yuffie with in the first place. Her attitude was the same, and she was still well enough to fight against Bahamut. Actually, Cloud was surprised Kadaj even let her live, when he remembered he had almost lost his head to Souba for just stumbling upon Kadaj's base. If it hadn't have been for Kadaj's pause, Cloud knew he would probably be dead.

"Maybe she's lucky and she escaped before they could do anything," Cloud suggested, hoping that was the answer. But, the comment he was avoiding was stated rather sharply by Vincent, who didn't seem to hesitate in saying, "Or maybe she's involved with him."

Cloud dropped his gaze to the carpeted floor of the helicopter. He hadn't wanted that suggestion to be voiced, but Vincent didn't seem to mind. Cloud could even sense Reno and Rude listening intently now, eager to get just a drop of information for their boss's supper.

"Maybe," he mumbled quietly, hoping Reno and Rude wouldn't hear him. To his side, Vincent sighed heavily and went back to staring out the window. Cloud was thankful he had dropped the conversation altogether. For Cloud, it seemed that speaking about things made them true, and he wanted to forget that statement was even uttered. He didn't know what he would do if it was reality, but he knew that the party back at the bar would want to know that he had put a stop to the remnant, whether Yuffie liked it or no.

* * *

It was going to take them a while to get to the Forgotten City on foot. Since Kadaj only had his bike, it was no use to them. He had left it in the church and they decided to walk together. He felt he needed the time to think anyways, so walking didn't upset him. Loz and Yazoo walked in front of Kadaj, as he dragged his feet through the desert sand, kicking miserably at random rocks.

He was more than just upset with himself at this point. He had managed to mull over all his failures as of late, and found that not only had he failed mother, but he had also failed to kill that annoying ninja girl. How she had slipped away unnoticed by even his brothers was a mystery to him, but it frustrated him to know that he could so easily be beaten. Was he so weak? No! He would never fail again!

Kadaj knew he would have to come up with a plan to find another part of mother. Even if Yazoo had told him it was fruitless, he was still going to try. He knew the President was not to be trusted. Kadaj would make him pay for all the times he tricked him. For now, he had other matters at hand. Cloud.

Kadaj was certain Cloud knew were the rest of mother was hiding. Why would the man fight so hard to stop him? He must want her for himself. But Kadaj couldn't sense her. It scared him that he really couldn't sense anything anymore. Mother's presence was gone and so was the presence of the geostigma.

Talking of which, Kadaj reminded himself absently, he would have to bath in the stream once they got to the glowing city. He could feel mother's gift burning on his skin. He kept it well hidden, but he knew that eventually it would spread up his neck and become visible. It had never hurt him, as long as mother had been with him, but now that she was gone he could feel the irritation starting.

He looked ahead to see if his brothers had noticed the discomfort on their skin, but if they did, they hid it well. Yazoo had always had a slight limp to his step, for his had started at the knee and snaked its way up. Loz had it across his back. Out of all of them, Kadaj had it the worst.

"Yazoo?" Kadaj called up ahead. Yazoo and Loz glanced back at him, but did not slow their pace. "Is mother's gift bothering you?"

Yazoo was silent, but after a moment, replied, "Yes, brother."

"Why?"

Kadaj felt strange to be suddenly asking questions so freely. He knew he probably shouldn't, but in the absence of mother, he felt an odd sense of freedom and he was starting to like it.

"We have lost our purpose, and mother requires us to return to the lifestream," Yazoo said, indifferently. He felt so detached from everything that was happening, to say that didn't stir one bit of sadness in him. He wondered if Kadaj was starting to feel lost? It was possible, he assumed. Yazoo knew that once Kadaj started to ask questions, it was a sign that his mind was at work with something unfinished.

Silently, Yazoo hoped his answers would lead his brother away from old trails in order to discover a life beyond that of mother. He didn't know why he wanted to learn of life so badly, but all Yazoo could think of was that if he had Kadaj's approval and enthusiasm towards this new idea, he would be able to observe life the way he wanted with more freedom.

Loz would follow Yazoo and Kadaj anywhere.

Kadaj was mulling over the answer Yazoo had given him. For what seemed like an eternity, he finally came to a conclusion in his mind that didn't seem to overly satisfy him: their purpose was to die.

A small voice in the back of his head told him he was wrong and that their purpose was to die _in order to be with mother_. But Kadaj was surprised to find that he wasn't overly thrilled with that idea, even when a few hours ago he was admitting he would do anything for her.

Kadaj felt split between the two things he cherished most: His and his brother's lives, and mother.

For the first time in his life, he realized his hesitation even though his mother was one of the decisions. Overall, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to die. He didn't know if it would hurt, or if he would have to go through a bunch of trials to be accepted into the lifestream, or if he would even see mother at the end of the tunnel. What if everything was a _lie_?

He had never seen or met mother in his entire life, what were the chances of him meeting her in the afterlife?

"Slim to none," he replied to himself bitterly. He was shocked when he realized that he had said something so cold towards the memory of his mother. It sickened him to think he thought that way about her. Yet, a part of him felt his answer was justified.

Kadaj liked that feeling, whatever it was.

"Kadaj," Yazoo was pointing behind him at a cloud of dust swirling in the distance. The sound of an engine purred along the road further away. The breezes dragged the sound towards them like it was a fog.

Kadaj was still lost in his own thoughts, but something at the back of his mind knew it was that ninja girl. "It's her," he said, immediately. He could recognize the sound of his own bike, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. Why was she following him? Did she want to die that badly?

"Why is she following us?" Yazoo said, voicing Kadaj's exact thought. He turned to Kadaj and rounded on him immediately, his tone had a slight edge to it that Kadaj didn't like. "And _why_ does she have _your_ bike?"

"What are you trying to imply?" Kadaj growled, dangerously.

"Guys, don't fight, please," Loz said for the hundredth time that day. He sounded tired of their constant bickering and considered knocking them both out, but decided better of it. And like always his plea went ignored.

Yazoo's expression was indifferent, but Kadaj could sense his anger. "If there is nothing between you," he said, coolly, "then I'll have no problem putting an end to this nonsense."

Kadaj gritted his teeth and scowled at Yazoo for his blunt reply. How dare Yazoo assume he was somehow fond of that human girl! Well, he would certainly live up to Yazoo's statement, and then Kadaj would show both of them that he was not to be pushed around.

He looked back at the dusty valley where he could see her riding towards them and unsheathed Souba. Then, strangely the engine stopped and she paused, leaning over the bike as though she was exhausted and couldn't go on. Kadaj wondered what she was playing at. What had made her stop?

* * *

Yuffie saw the flash of silver and Kadaj unsheathe his sword. She stopped to settle stomach and gaze over at them through the dusty air. The dark clouds swirled overhead of them, and thunder roared through the empty valley. The three men were quiet a distance away, but Yuffie knew the trail of dust she was leaving had given her away and now Kadaj stood rooted and staring across the plain at her.

She could practically sense his frustration with her and she knew that if she went any further, she would most certainly die. But she needed the materia! She was bleeding again, the ride had caused her to bounce around on the bike as it went over rough terrain and the wound had reopened. She winced at the pain.

Then, she had an idea. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone hoping Kadaj was still carrying Cloud's phone and called his number.

It rang the first time and she saw in the distance Kadaj look around in surprise. She grinned to herself thinking what was possibly going through his mind right now. And she knew she was breaking the limit, but she wasn't scared of him. If he wanted to kill her, she would have been dead by now. She still remembered he had given, well, thrown, her a cura. She was still uncertain of why he had done that, but she didn't leave too much time to think about it.

"_Why_ are you following us?" Kadaj answered the phone.

Yuffie smirked. "You _still_ have my materia, and I _need_ it!"

Click. Yuffie scoffed. Oh, he would certainly pay for hanging up on her!

She called back.

"_Go and bother someone else!" _ Kadaj growled.

"No! Not until you –,"

Click. "Ooooh!" Yuffie hit the redail button.

"I don't want to talk to you! Do you _really_ want to die that badly?" Kadaj answered again. Yuffie could see him waving his hands and making rude gestures her way every time the phone rang.

"Oh, yeah, then why do you keep picking up?" Yuffie asked, vindictively. She smirked at her brilliance.

"…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Yuffie smirked.

"If you don't want to die, I suggest you turn right around and go back to your little friends," Kadaj snarled as a warning.

"But, I can't." Yuffie was pretty sure she heard one of Kadaj's brothers mumble something in the background and they started to turn and walk away from her.

"Hey! Don't walk away from me! I'm talking to you, you arrogant jerk!" Yuffie shouted through the phone. Kadaj kept walking.

"So, your little friends won't take you back? How's that _my_ problem!?" Kadaj growled through the speaker.

"Oh, boy, believe me! You're gonna have a lot more problems on your hands if you walk away from me!" Yuffie snarled, and she was about to remind him who he was talking to, when she saw him stop and turn around to face her again. His brothers didn't seem to notice and were continuing on.

"What _problems_?" Kadaj asked. She could sense his defenses going up, and she knew she had him in her cage. She smirked at her brilliance.

"Come and get me, give me my materia back and I'll tell you," Yuffie bargained.

There was silence on the other side of the line as Kadaj considered this.

"…Fine," he replied, "but if you're lying, you'll pay for it."

Yuffie smirked. "Deal, come and get me."

And so it began, Kadaj frowned. "You have the bike – you come here."

"I'm injured, and I have terrible motion sickness! So, get over here!"

"No! I will not be pushed around by you!"

"Kadaj, please, it hurts!"

"Ha! I fell for that once, I won't fall for it again!" Kadaj bit his lip after he realized what he had said and cursed himself silently.

Yuffie was quick enough to notice this as well. "Aw, you mean you actually cared about me?"

"I was pretending to be your friend, if you can't remember, so no," Kadaj mumbled in frustration.

Yuffie smirked mischievously. She knew she was stepping over the line. She figured if she was going to die, she may as well have some fun before she went. "You know," she said, trying her best to contain her laughter, "you have a very sexy phone voice."

Click.

Yuffie burst into laughs and watched as Kadaj pitched Cloud's phone at her. It obviously wasn't hard enough because it landed a few feet from her and skidded to a stop at her feet. Yuffie frowned. Now she wouldn't be able to call him anymore. She saw him take a seat on a rock, and clued in that he was going to sit there and wait for her stubbornly.

* * *

Kadaj was so embarrassed by her comment he had chucked the phone in her direction. He knew it wouldn't hit her, but it was only wishful thinking. He sat on a rock to show her that he was in no mood to play her games and if she wanted her materia back, she better get over there or he was leaving.

Kadaj didn't know if the ninja really did have any information. All he knew was that he couldn't afford to screw up his mission again, that is, if there _was_ a second chance. He still needed time to think about his next step, and this girl was only distracting him from his goal.

He knew his brothers would never let him live this down once they found out Kadaj was letting her come with them. She wasn't a risk to them. Once he had his information, he would simply kill her. He wasn't one to keep a fair bargain.

As he watched her give in, after a few minutes of staring stubbornly back at him, Kadaj heard the bike engine start and watched her roll to a stop in front of him. He wasn't at all surprised to find that one half of her body was covered in blood from his attack, and he didn't feel sorry about it. She gave him a sour look.

"You're a bastard, you know that! Just one stubborn ass –,"

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you, or I'll shut it for you," Kadaj said, icily. The ninja only glared back.

"I'm not afraid of you," she stated boldly. Kadaj was a little surprised to note that this seemed mostly true. She wouldn't have followed him if she was scared, and now that he came to think about it, he wondered what he had done to make her be unafraid. Maybe he was loosing his edge, he thought bitterly.

Kadaj stood up, and practically pushed her off the bike. "Move!" he snarled at her, as he mounted in front of her.

"Wait! I thought we were walking?" Yuffie said, suddenly. Kadaj smirked when he realized he was the cause of the fear in her voice.

"I thought you were too injured?" he sneered.

"You know I have motion sickness!" Yuffie argued.

"I don't care. If you feel the urge, lean sideways!" Kadaj snapped. He was fed up with her already, and he hadn't even started the engine.

He heard her grumble and curse him some more, but he ignored it. However, when he turned the key, Kadaj stiffened when Yuffie wrapped her arms around his waste. He decided not to bring attention to his momentary awkwardness by pausing or saying anything, so instead he pretended he didn't notice and hit the gas.

Yuffie felt him freeze when she put her arms around him to steady herself. She had never really ridden behind anyone on a bike before and she had only seen it done in movies where the girl uses the guy to keep them from falling off. She didn't know if Kadaj was a wild driver, but she knew she was feeling dizzy already and she couldn't risk not holding on to him.

She didn't bring any attention to his pause. She felt she was probably sitting on the fence with him as it was, and she knew he could probably kill her if he wanted to. Her side was still sore, making her weaker than usual and her energy was already failing her. She felt the bike lurch forward and her grip around his waste tightened in response.

He didn't say anything to her the entire ride, and Yuffie was thankful for this. She was busy trying to keep her mouth shut, and she felt if she opened it she would puke. So, for once, she let the silence linger.

Yuffie was quite comfortable and it shocked her when she seriously thought about Kadaj being the remnant of Sephiroth he actually was. Though, he _had_ tried to kill her several times already, Yuffie could sense a hesitant feeling in him, something that was holding him back from allowing him to truly _be_ a Sephiroth. She figured that something was the reason she was still alive after tormenting him so often, and she couldn't help but think of Kadaj as a separate being, apart from Sephiroth altogether – someone with some sense of mercy, perhaps?

Or, maybe he was just going to use her for her information and kill her afterward, Yuffie contemplated that and tossed the two ideas about in her mind every once and a while to keep from thinking about the nausea. However, no matter how much she mused about Kadaj's supposed evil soul, she couldn't help but see someone or something inside him who desperately wanted a different path from the destiny that was chosen for him.

Yuffie swallowed and resisted the temptation to lean her head against his back. She was feeling rather dizzy, but she was sure he would have stopped the bike and thrown her off right there and then if she had. So, she sat there and said nothing and waited until the glowing trees of the Forgotten City peeked over the sandy horizon.


	5. A Taste of Freedom

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and fav's! It really encourages me to write more. Therefore, I give you:**

Chapter 5: A Taste of Freedom

Yazoo and Loz had started on towards the forest before Kadaj. Yazoo was in no real hurry, but he hoped that without him and Loz watching Kadaj would perform his task without hesitation and meet up with them eventually.

So, one could understand the shock and irritation Yazoo felt when Kadaj's bike came to a stop at their base carrying none other than the silver-haired youth and their supposed enemy. Not only was Yazoo surprised that she was still alive, but she was holding onto Kadaj as though the brutal fight that occurred between them in the church had never happened.

As soon as the bike stopped, Yuffie fell sideways off of it, and lay sprawled in the ground. Yazoo was a little assured to note this was Kadaj's doing, and perhaps there was more of a reason behind his younger brother's decision to bring her here. He gave him a studious look, ignoring the groans of pain from the girl.

"She has information," Kadaj snapped, immediately at his brother's stare. Yuffie stood and leaned heavily on a glowing tree trunk.

"Um… can I have a cura now?" Yuffie mumbled, wincing as pain shot through her side again. She felt extremely frustrated that she had to _ask_ for materia she knew was hers.

Kadaj only regarded her with a blank gaze, before Yazoo interrupted. "What information would be helpful to us now?" he said, bitterly.

"Anything on mother; _anything_ at this point," Kadaj replied, ignoring his brother's tone. He went to stand at the side of the river with his back to all of them. There was a heavy air about him that seemed to upset his brothers. Loz was sniffling again, his green mako eyes swelling and reddening like giant aqua candies. Yazoo took a step towards him and balled his fists.

"Kadaj –,"

"We've been through this enough times, Yazoo!" Kadaj suddenly snapped, he turned and rounded on his brother with a malicious glare, "I know you want to give up on mother! So, then go! Leave! When the reunion comes mother will know who is loyal to her!"

Yazoo dropped his gaze to the ground, and Loz was so surprised he had stopped mid-sniff. Yuffie was the only one who didn't seem daunted by the heavy atmosphere.

"Hello?!" She snarled, "I'm _bleeding_ over here! Some cura would be nice!"

Kadaj grumbled something incoherent and said, "Loz, get her a cura!"

"But I thought she –,"

"Just do it!" Kadaj snarled, furious that even Loz was arguing with him. Had he really lost that much of his edge and leadership? "What is the problem with you two? Can't you see that I'm trying to get us to mother? Why are you making this so difficult?"

There was a silence, while Loz disappeared from the clearing behind a row of glowing trees to retrieve the materia. Yuffie watched for where he went, hoping he would give her some hint as to where they had hid it, but he returned carrying a glowing white orb, and she was nowhere closer to her goal than she had been moments before.

"We have accepted mother's abandonment of us," Yazoo said, quietly. Loz handed the orb to Yuffie reluctantly, and she absorbed it up eagerly, watching her wound piece itself back together.

Kadaj's mouth was hanging slightly open at Yazoo's statement. "Mother would _never_ abandon us," he said through gritted teeth. He wasn't at all certain if his statement was true. He could no longer feel his mother's presence in the back of his mind, and her emotions, fueling his anger and enthusiasm for finding her, were gone. Actually, now that Kadaj thought about it, he didn't even have the energy to start looking for her anymore. He was only saying he would because it was the only thing that he knew to do, it gave him some sort of purpose and he hated being bored.

It was then that realized how tired he really was. Kadaj sighed and Yazoo knew he didn't even have to answer to his comment. The younger sibling knew very well they had been left behind, destined to rot away by the mimetic legacy they had always cherished. Everything seemed rather backwards and upside down.

Yuffie tore her gaze away from her healing wounds to Kadaj who was staring off into the black waters of the river thoughtfully. Yazoo and Loz were watching him with mild interest, waiting for his next comment on mother or them. But, it never came. Instead, Kadaj shook his head in confusion and mumbled, "I'm going to think about things. I expect to be left alone."

With that, he disappeared into the brush where Loz had been moments before and didn't come back. Yuffie fought the urge to go after him, knowing full well that if she did she would most certainly get hurt again. At the same time she didn't want to be left alone with his brothers. She could sense that the feeling between them was mutual, and Loz was the first to leave to go somewhere other than where Kadaj went off to. This left Yuffie and Yazoo, which was extremely awkward to say the least.

"Why hasn't Kadaj killed you yet?" Yazoo asked rather bluntly, "What do you know that could be so important to him, hm?"

"I-I don't know," Yuffie replied, uncertainly, "Maybe it's my charm."

Yazoo scowled at her humor and left her also. Yuffie was a little surprised that she had been left alone. Certainly they would be guarding the materia, but she figured they would be a little more careful around her given what happened last time. Well, at least she wasn't hog tied like the last time. She grinned. She was definitely improving on her escapes, she thought.

Thankful that her side had healed, Yuffie pushed herself away from the tree and dragged her feet towards the river. Her eyes scanned the forbidden beauty of the forgotten forest. The silence was gently broken by the soft hum of fireflies and the river's lolling flow. Yuffie turned her gaze away to see where Loz had gone when he went to retrieve the materia. She approached the brush and started to wander through it, glancing about for any sign of a camp ground nearby.

As she wandered her mind did also. She thought back to the conversation Kadaj had had with his brothers and wondered what exactly it was they were after. Jenova was gone. She knew Kadaj knew this now. But why was he so intent on having her? What was the reunion?

Another thing that she wondered about was that the brothers seemed to have geostigma as well. Yuffie found this rather ironic, because the one they envy most is killing them slowly. She didn't know whether to feel relieved that they would die eventually or feel remorse. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yuffie knew she held some sadness for Kadaj and his brothers. She didn't like to think so, because they had injured her on many occasions, but Yuffie knew it was because of what they _hadn't_ done that made her feel this way towards them.

It was in their nature to kill and obtain their goal. Yuffie saw this now. She only had a slight understanding of what they were after, but she knew now that once Jenova was ripped from them, it was like tearing a loved one away. She didn't know how she came to this conclusion, only that she felt it was right, and the fact that she felt this way for her friends enemies sickened her somewhat.

What was wrong with her?

Long branches of dark bushes clung to her legs and ripped at her clothing. They didn't bother her. She swung wildly at the larger twigs with her Shuriken to get them out of her way. Soon, the sun disappeared from above the trees and the stars twinkled overhead, and Yuffie wondered how long she'd been wandering for.

And then there was Kadaj to worry about. Yuffie had the slightest suspicion she was safe as long as she let nothing about Cloud or the others slip. She was no dummy to believe he would do a fair trade. That image just didn't sit right with Kadaj, and Yuffie couldn't see it either. He was just too cunning to agree to something so simple.

She decided to call it a day dropped down on a log to rest her tired and scratched legs. Letting out a long sigh, she glanced around her and noticed that she was completely surrounded by brush and glowing trees. It was then she realized she was lost, and she listened intently for the flow of the river.

Not too far from where she was, Yuffie heard splashing and grinned. She wasn't that lost, she thought. All she'd have to do was follow the river back.

She sat there for a moment, taking in the intense contrast of white on black that surrounded her. She took this time to muse at what Tifa and the rest back at Seventh Heaven were probably thinking of her right now. Yuffie knew Tifa wasn't stupid. She would have seen right through Yuffie's desperate dash. She figured Tifa had most likely told the entire party of her earlier actions, which left Yuffie no choice but to face there heated questions when she got back.

Or maybe, she just wouldn't go back. The thought struck her without warning and she was surprised at her own sense. However, she couldn't help but feel justified. They always treated her like a child. Yuffie was pretty certain that they were probably talking about her whereabouts right at that very moment. Didn't she have her own life? She was able to do what she wanted and didn't have to tell them everything. Not that there was anything to tell. Tifa had made sure of that, Yuffie scoffed.

Stretching out her sore legs, Yuffie stood up and decided she should probably find the river so that she could head back. Kadaj and his brothers were probably wondering where she'd gotten to. Though she figured as long as she didn't touch the materia, they wouldn't really care.

She followed the sound of the water until she could see the bank through the trees and brush. Making her way out, she noticed a movement to her right and immediately ducked down into a bunch of leafy ivy.

She didn't know what it was, but it was moving and she could hear it in the water. She gripped her Shuriken tightly and waited for the sound to fade, but it only got louder and closer. Yuffie started to panic, and then she peeked carefully through a gape in the brush.

She was slightly relieved, but still nervous to find that what she was hearing was Kadaj. But, as Yuffie soon discovered, that wasn't what made her nervous. Her heart skipped a beat and she could feel the heat burning up her cheeks as she peered through at his shirtless body.

Kadaj was waste high in river water. His clothing was laying in a crumpled heap on the bank. He dipped his head a bit and wiped his face with his hands. Yuffie's eye were widening with every passing second as she watched him. She realized too late at her mouth was hanging open as she practically drooled over the smooth looking skin on his back.

She cursed herself for her impropriety, but figured as long as she wasn't touching, her actions were completely harmless. Look, but don't touch; that was her rule. And boy, was she doing a lot of looking.

Yuffie seemed to come to her senses a little bit and dropped her gaze to occupy herself with a small bug that was crawling on the leaf in front of her. She contained her squeal, hoping not to be discovered. She would most certain die if she had been.

What are you doing? She thought, guiltily. He's the enemy! The bad guy! You shouldn't be ogling his amazing shirtless body!

Yuffie bit her bottom lip, forcing her thoughts away. Just a little more, she smirked, and looked up through the leaves again. This time, Kadaj's attention was directed from the water to the brush on Yuffie's other side. She froze, thinking he may have heard her somehow, but then someone stepped into her line of vision, small as it was.

Just as Kadaj turned to face her direction, Yuffie held in a small gasp as she fell witness to the giant dark geostigma climbing from his chest up the side of his neck. It destroyed the perfect image of his chiseled chest, and made Yuffie pout slightly. But the discovery of Kadaj's terrible reality finally hit Yuffie full on and made her realize that he was destined to Jenova's fate no matter what he did.

This revelation made her feel somewhat sorry for Kadaj and his brothers.

Just as Yuffie decided to pay Kadaj some respect and leave him be, she felt a firm grip encase both her forearms and drag her up. Her heart caught in her throat and her eyes widened as she was spun around and came face to face with none other than Vincent Valentine.

"Vin –," Yuffie gasped in surprise. Her heart dropped as soon as it had risen, and she knew she would definitely have some explaining to do.

"Yuffie, I don't even _want_ to know," Vincent said, hollowly. His wine-colored eyes flashed darkly in the moonlight, and he added, "Let's get out of here before the other two realize you're missing."

Yuffie couldn't say a word. She was so shocked; she simply let him guide her away from river and eventually into a small clearing. Once here, he let her go and she stumbled forward. She spun around and frowned.

"Hey, don't man handle me again, okay?!" she spat, trying her best to be casual even though that was just about one of her most embarrassing moments. She could practically feel the red in her cheeks glowing as brightly as the trees around them.

Vincent gave her a stern stare, his frown hidden by the high collar of his jacket. "You should go back to Edge. Everyone is worried about you," he said, indifferently.

Yuffie could feel his dark gaze boring into her like he would be able to read her thoughts. She redirected her gaze to the ground at her feet and felt she should probably come up with a good answer as to why she had run off like she did. "Worried, huh? They don't need to be worried about me. I can take care of myself, you know!" Yuffie pouted, balling her fists.

She was so frustrated that Vincent had gone looking for her. What did they think she would do? Get into trouble? … Well, alright, she had done that, she assumed. But that was no reason for her to be saved by anyone! She would be able to get herself out of her own mess.

"Why are you here Yuffie?" Vincent asked, flatly. His eyes fell on her blood soaked clothing and his frown deepened behind the veil of red.

"I'm stealing back my materia!" Yuffie said. Well, she thought, that was half the truth.

"Your materia?" Vincent repeated, plainly. He glanced around and then asked, "Kadaj has it?"

"He used it against us, remember? I'm here to get it back!" Yuffie said, thankful he was so easily being redirected onto another subject.

"Oh, so, watching that remnant bathe was part of your plan, was it?" Vincent asked. If the boy had been a typical teenager, not capable of bringing Sephiroth back and destroying the planet, perhaps he would have grinned at this. However, considering Kadaj was certainly no ordinary teen, he continued to frown and it showed through to his eyes.

Yuffie's smirk faded as she realized maybe she should have turned right around and walked away when she saw Kadaj there. Now, she would have to explain her ogling to someone she figured was much older than both of them put together. She gritted her teeth.

"Well, he was… I mean, I was waiting for him to lead me back to their camp. Then I could find my materia and leave!" Yuffie excused lamely.

"Oh," Vincent said with a hint of sarcasm, "I see. Well, now that I've pulled you away from your mission, I expect you to come with me back to the Healin Lodge."

"But what about my –,"

"You can get it later, when the remnants aren't around to guard it," Vincent said, darkly.

"But –," Yuffie persisted.

"Come with me," Vincent said, suddenly, "Cloud is waiting for us."

"Huh?" Yuffie said, her eyes widened, "Hey, how did you know I was here? You didn't follow me did you?"

She felt a little bit embarrassed and extremely frustrated that she hadn't been able to pick up on that. Yuffie gritted her teeth. She must be slipping in her ninja skills.

"You should know," Vincent said, with a smirk, before he pulled her into his cloak and disappeared.

* * *

Kadaj had a lot on his mind. The thought of a quick bath was appealing, and, more so, the peace and quiet. He was sick of Yazoo bothering him with questions he couldn't answer and sick of Loz's constant crying. Wait! Even Loz was questioning him! Curse it all, Kadaj thought, bitterly. He felt he was falling further into a hole he couldn't get back out of.

But what if Yazoo was right and mother was really gone? Kadaj couldn't bear to think it, because it would all be his fault. Mother hadn't come to visit him since the last night, and Kadaj was feeling more and more lost with every passing minute she didn't call for him.

"Mother?" Kadaj tried to find a small fragment of her presence within him, but failed again. He hit the surface of the water angrily, causing an incredible splash to wash over to the bank. He didn't care though.

So, it was his entire fault then. He had doomed them all.

Kadaj brought a hand across his chest and, without looking, knew the geostigma was growing up the side of his neck now. It was getting worse. He could feel weakness entering his body at that spot, and he hated himself for it. The water soothed the irritation somewhat, but it didn't give Kadaj any peace of mind. He was going to die, that was his purpose? Wasn't that what Yazoo had said?

All he had worked so hard to achieve was just going to end? No. He wouldn't let it happen! There's got to be another way!

But what if there wasn't another way? Kadaj gritted his teeth at these frustrating thoughts and dipped his head under the cool water, only to come up a breath too short. Water went up his nose and it burned the entire way down his throat. He rubbed his face, trying to rid himself of the uncomfortable sensation, but it was no use.

Deciding that he hated the water now, Kadaj turned and started to wade towards the bank. He was only a few steps in when he heard a faint whistling sound and a rustle of leaves. The evening breeze was gentle, and it couldn't have been an animal. Kadaj drew his attention to the bushed partly hidden in the shadow of the night, even among the glowing pale trees.

His eyes shifted over the spot where the ninja had been momentarily, but when he heard nothing more, he diverted his attention back to the shore. He spotted his shirt lying in the sand and immediately caught the gleam of silver from the edge of his vision.

"Kadaj," Yazoo said, walking calmly into the clearing. Kadaj gritted his teeth. Yazoo was the last person he wanted to speak to at the moment. I thought I told him I wanted to be left alone, Kadaj thought irritably.

He decided to make his point for a second time. "Did you not _hear_ me? I said -,"

"There's something I'd like to talk to you about, brother," Yazoo suddenly said, ignoring Kadaj's widening glare.

He watched calmly as Kadaj left the water and picked up his jacket, giving it a brutal shake to rid it of sand before he put it on again. Yazoo's frown deepened. He knew his brother would not be an easy one to persuade, in fact, that wasn't even suppose to be a trait Yazoo was capable of. Kadaj was the cunning sibling, not Yazoo.

Yazoo gave a mental shrug, figuring the worst that could happen if his plan failed would be Kadaj not talking to him for a while. And, now that he thought about it, Yazoo didn't seem to mind the thought of that. He suppressed a smirk.

"I don't want to _talk_ right now," Kadaj snarled. He zipped up his jacket all the way to the collar bone, doing his best to hide the ugly diseased flesh. Yazoo was quick to notice this, and felt a pang of guilt.

"Yours is spreading?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

Kadaj took this opportunity to turn and face the opposite direction to avoid Yazoo's curious gaze as he picked up Souba and latched it to his belt. He frowned, wondering why the question stirred anger and resentment deep within him. "So?" he snapped.

Yazoo noted the hostility in Kadaj's voice and chose to leave that sore topic alone. Instead, he said, "I've been thinking about a lot of things since mother left us, Kadaj."

"Does mother know?" Kadaj suddenly spat, "She hates it when you _think_! Don't you stop and wonder what kind of punishment I have to endure on behalf of your _thinking_!"

Yazoo stopped in surprise. He hadn't realized that Kadaj was being punished by mother for his doing. It was completely unfair. Why was mother doing that? He looked back up into his younger brother's mako orbs, shinning with anger, as always. However, Yazoo had seen the fear in them.

"I'm sorry, Kadaj," Yazoo replied, indifferently.

Kadaj didn't reply to this. He was angered by Yazoo's willingness to deceive mother. Yet, Kadaj could sense a growing curiosity of his own, something he had never felt before and, though he would never admit, it scared him. Without much hesitation Kadaj knew that whatever Yazoo had to offer from his thoughts may lead them to a purpose. And for once, Kadaj allowed Yazoo to have his moment to explain his feelings.

This opportunity was a rarity, and Yazoo didn't have a moment to pause and wonder why Kadaj was letting him do so, before he knew his brother would change his mind. With that, he began.

"I was wondering if it was possible that mother has left us for a reason?" he said, slowly, letting Kadaj catch on to what he was saying without letting him get a word in. Yazoo knew that if he had some of Kadaj's undivided attention, he would have a chance in having everything he needed to say heard. Yet, Kadaj was too quick and before Yazoo could say more, he stopped him.

"Yeah: to die," Kadaj snapped bitterly. Yazoo mentally winced at the coldness in his words. He knew what was on Kadaj's mind as his mako eyes wandered to the geostigma on his neck again. Something like regret passed through Yazoo's thoughts, and he wished he had never said anything to put those thoughts in his brother's head.

"Maybe not," Yazoo mumbled, uncertainly. This caught Kadaj's attention immediately and his eyes snapped up in surprise. It was difficult for him to hide his suspicion.

"What do you mean by that?" he snarled, "You're doubting mother, are you?"

"No, Kadaj," Yazoo assured him, quickly, "But, it's the geostigma that's weakening us now and nothing else… we could fight it."

Kadaj dropped his gaze back to the gravel beneath his feet and Yazoo knew he doubted this. "How?" he said, quietly, after a moment.

Yazoo frowned. How was he supposed to know? From what he had observed, that's what people told each other when they needed to give them some encouragement.

"The humans are fighting it, brother," he said, slowly. He watched Kadaj's expression carefully, but nothing seemed to change about it.

"Are you saying we are as helpless as them? They are vermin, brother! We are not so weak!" Kadaj said, truly disgusted at the thought of how similar they were to humans at the moment. He tried not to think about it.

"No," Yazoo replied, "but we could use them to find a cure. They already search for it."

"There is no cure, Yazoo. Mother made sure of that," Kadaj said simply.

"… Maybe mother was wrong, Kadaj," Yazoo said, very quietly.

Kadaj glanced back up with a scowl on his face. His eyes shone maliciously in the moonlit clearing. Yazoo immediately regretted his comment. "Mother is _never_ wrong. Apologize now, Yazoo!"

Anger flared between the brothers again. Yazoo's expression was indifferent, but his eyes flashed defiantly, locking with Kadaj's angered mako orbs. A moment passed, as Yazoo thought. If mother was never wrong, then she had given her sons a disease in hopes that they would die? Somehow, that seemed so wrong to Yazoo. From what he had witnessed, mothers didn't do that at all to their children. He realized while watching the humans that mothers were usually willing to give their lives to ensure their children's wellbeing, not abandon them and leave them to die.

Before, Yazoo had been so set on the reunion, but now he wasn't so sure about it. Everything that had happened in the last couple of hours had him thinking about the life he and his brothers were living and the life the humans were used to. Recently, Yazoo had come to a disturbing conclusion: mother had lied to them.

It had been easy to persuade Loz of his theory, but he knew Kadaj would be difficult. If only he could show Kadaj what mother really had planned, and what he knew would be better for them. But that wasn't so easy to do, even Yazoo wasn't entirely sure that his assumption would lead them down the right path.

"No," he uttered after a few moments.

Kadaj looked shocked. His bright green eyes widened and his lips parted slightly as he drew in a sharp breath. It took him a while to recover, before he was able to form his response. When he did, it was slow and every word dripped with fury.

"How _could_ you, brother?"

Yazoo didn't tear his gaze from Kadaj. He was not willing to back down so easily. "Kadaj, listen to me –,"

"I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Kadaj snapped, turning from him in frustration.

"Don't be like this, brother –,"

"Don't call me that!" Kadaj growled, spinning around. His eyes wide, cat-like pupils dilated to slits, as he took a step forward, balling his fists angrily.

"Why not?" Yazoo said, rather hurt. He was glad Loz wasn't around to pick on him, for he really did think he was going to cry now.

"Because you have turned on mother!" Kadaj accused, "You have become a traitor!"

"Don't say that," Yazoo mumbled, his voice started to tremble. He could feel his heart dropping into his chest and his eyes burning up. He deeply regretted having said anything to Kadaj.

"If only mother could hear you now," Kadaj snarled. He finally dropped his voice somewhat. The hiss of noises of the night broke the silence between them as they glared at each other from across opposite ends of the clearing.

"Mother can't hear us now, Kadaj," Yazoo said, flatly, bringing himself together, "She has left us to fed for ourselves, remember? So, doesn't that mean there are no sides anymore? It's over. We can decide on our own?"

Kadaj couldn't answer this. How was he supposed to know? All he ever knew was what mother told him. He let the silence linger between them a little longer.

But, before either of them could continue, there was a loud noise of rustling brush and heavy footsteps. Kadaj drew Souba and Yazoo readied Velvet Nightmare, and they stood facing the intrusion.

Loz stumbled into the clearing looking rather distressed. He made a little terrified sound as he realized both Kadaj and Yazoo had been ready to slew him.

"Are you crying, Loz?" Yazoo teased. He was frustrated that Loz had interrupted such an important conversation.

"That girl is gone again," Loz said.

"The materia?" Kadaj asked, quickly.

"Still here," Loz replied, with a smirk.

"Then, she isn't gone for good," Kadaj said, rubbing his temple irritably. Yazoo shot a suspicious glance in his direction.

"I forgot to ask why you haven't killed her already?" he asked, curiously.

Kadaj scowled. "She has information."

"Or so she says," Yazoo mumbled. Loz sighed deeply.

Kadaj could only frown at him. He felt like his energy was being sucked from him. He didn't possess the power to snap back. Instead, he started leading them back through the brush to their camp.

Everything Yazoo had said was replaying in his mind like a track on repeat, and he couldn't seem to silence it. When he returned to the camp, he saw the box of materia still where he had left it, and no Yuffie. He smirked, and knew she'd be back. He was slightly unnerved that she had just left without taking what she had come for. Not that he was worried about her, of course, but what if something dangerous was lurking in the forest and had got to her before Kadaj could?

Then, Kadaj stopped dead in his tracks, causing Loz to walk into him. Yazoo paused to look back at him curiously.

"What?" he asked, though his voice seemed careless.

Kadaj didn't know how to tell his brothers that perhaps Yuffie had persuaded Kadaj to bring her here so that she could lead others here as well. Had he walked so blindly into a trap? He had thought something was off on the way she had seemed so confident that he wouldn't hurt her. She was probably being followed by her company and protected. That's why she seemed so unafraid.

Kadaj could have hit himself for being so dull. How could he not have caught that?

"Do you hear anything?" he asked, hoping to divert his brother's suspicion of him. He didn't want them knowing he had made such a mistake – they were already disobeying him as it was. He could save himself the embarrassment.

Yazoo and Loz went silent and listened for something to draw their attention, but there was nothing.

"No."

Hoping his assumption was wrong, Kadaj just shook his head and said, "Just an animal, I guess."

One of Yazoo's fine eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. Kadaj ignored him and stepped into the clearing – taking a small breath as he did so – and went to the box of materia. Opening it confirmed everything was in its rightful place and he could go to bed with knowing Yuffie was around somewhere waiting to steal it all back.

"You think she's still here?" Yazoo suddenly said. Kadaj wasn't sure if it was a question. It unnerved him to think Yazoo had guessed so close to home.

"She came after us for the materia, and it's all still here," Kadaj stated.

"Hmph," was all Yazoo said in reply, and Kadaj didn't want to question why he was being so arrogant when it came to anything to do with the ninja. He figured this was Yazoo's new way of expressing himself, now that mother wasn't around to scare him into silence. Kadaj rather enjoyed Yazoo's silence compared to this, at least his older brother had been obedient. But, then they were all aiming for the same goal. It seemed that now, things were different and they were confused on what to do.

Kadaj readied his sleeping bag. Loz and Yazoo followed on their own time. Meanwhile, Kadaj was lost in thought.

Maybe this was what freedom was like. It made people headstrong and stubborn, only mindful of their own opinion. Kadaj didn't know if he liked this new freedom they had, if it was that at all. For some reason, he didn't like it because he was feeling like he was loosing his ability to control. For the first time in his life, Yazoo and Loz weren't listening to him. Suddenly, it made him realized what it was like to be the _youngest_.

And he hated every last bit of it.


	6. The Cure

A/N: Thank you for being so patient

**A/N: Thank you for being so patient. My life has taken a few interesting turns that have kept me more than preoccupied. However, I still think of you and my mind will not be a peace until I update. Therefore, I give you:**

Chapter 6: The Cure

The Healin' Lodge seemed to almost loom over Yuffie as she opened her eyes to find herself and Vincent standing before it. The sky's last remnants of red and orange glowed faintly behind the building; the suns last attempts before dying out. Yuffie tightened her grip on her Shuriken absently, with the thought that President Shinra and the Turks were lurking somewhere inside.

Vincent didn't seem at all bothered. He turned to Cloud, who was standing next to the entrance with his arms crossed. Yuffie hadn't even realized he was there at first, and figured he had most likely been waiting for them.

"Yuffie –," he said, immediately.

"Cloud, I don't want to talk about anything right now!" Yuffie snapped, silencing the ex-Soldier. He looked rather irritated over her interruption. He turned to the door as he mumbled, "Fine, but you'll have to explain to everyone eventually."

This statement lit the spark of Yuffie's anger. How dare he pry in what she considered _her_ business? She wasn't doing anything wrong! All she wanted was her materia back from that materia-stealing brat! So what if Kadaj was the one everyone was after at the moment? She wasn't hurt or killed or… wait, what?

Yuffie seemed to pause in her mental explosion, as she realized she wasn't at all harmed in anyway. It was then that Yuffie realized what Cloud could only assume, and she couldn't contain her scowl. "What do you mean by _that_?" she snapped.

"You know he's the enemy, Yuffie," Cloud said, bluntly, obviously careless of her feelings, "Tifa told us everything. I'd just like to know if it's true."

"She told you what _exactly_?" Yuffie gapped, her eyes widening in shock. It was obvious what her friend had assumed, but the fact remained that they actually thought she was… somehow involved with Kadaj.

"What do _you_ think, Yuffie?" Cloud said, flatly. He knew she knew what he was talking about, but he wasn't about to say it in front of the doors of the Healin' Lodge where he knew their _other_ rival was waiting behind.

Vincent seemed to note this, because he cut Yuffie off before she could snap back. "We should talk later. Now is not the time."

Yuffie was fuming. She glared over at Cloud with a glare worthy of Sephiroth.

"We will _not_ talk later, because there is _nothing_ to talk about!" she snarled, defensively.

Just then, the door to the Healin' Lodge opened and Reno poked his head out, a smirk playing about his lips. Cloud glanced over his shoulder at him, and Yuffie went bright red as she realized she had probably been yelling. She relaxed her shoulders and tried to look a little calmer about the situation. Vincent only regarded her with a blank stare.

"Sorry to break up this little reunion," Reno smirked at the pun, "But -,"

"We're coming," Cloud said, interrupting the Turk.

Reno let out an irritated growl and returned back inside, slamming the door behind him.

"Working with the Turks…" Vincent commented, lightly. He didn't even need to finish his sentence before Yuffie and Cloud knew what he meant. Cloud shook his head, and sighed.

"Not for much longer," he replied.

"What are we going to talk to the President for?" Yuffie asked, curiously. She didn't have to be a psychic to know it was going to be about Kadaj and his brothers.

"About Kadaj's next step," Cloud said, "There's no stopping him now. He's got Jenova."

"No he doesn't," Yuffie stated. She remembered very clearly how the seal box Kadaj had held tightly had leaked a green-glowing fume into the air and disappeared. At this comment, both Cloud and Vincent looked taken aback.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, voicing the thoughts for Vincent as well.

Yuffie smirked. This was her moment of pride and nobody was going to take it away from her!

"I used my great ninja skills and _hiya_! Jenova's head went back to the lifestream!" she said, proudly, punching a fist in the air excitedly.

Her excitement disappeared when she realized she was being regarded with bored expressions. It was obvious they didn't believe her, and she balled her fists angrily. "You don't believe me?"

"Be serious, Yuffie," Vincent said, calmly.

"If you're lying to us, you would be putting everyone in real danger," Cloud said, darkly.

"I'm not lying!" Yuffie said in frustration, "Why won't you believe me? We were fighting in the church and he threw magic at me and it made this big hole in the ground. Water came up out of the ground and soaked everything, and somehow the water killed Jenova! It like evaporated or something!"

Again, she was regarded with blank stares. This infuriated her even more and she gritted her teeth. "Oooh! You guys always treat me like some stupid punk! Why do I even talk to you?"

Cloud had a hopeless expression spread across his face as he turned to enter the Healin' Lodge. "I don't know what to believe anymore," he mumbled, coolly.

Yuffie rounded on Vincent, who was about to follow Cloud inside. "You believe me, right?" she asked, hopefully.

"Don't ask questions right now," he replied, simply. Yuffie bared her teeth and followed them inside.

She was so upset at the two of them that she practically walked into Reno, who was standing next to the doorway. As if she was something filthy, he brushed his suit off after she had stepped back and apologized profusely.

Cloud and Vincent had stopped before Rude and President Shinra, who was still in his wheelchair. The blanket that had covered his face some time ago, was now missing and he regarded them with one eye slightly hidden behind short locks of blonde. Yuffie noticed this was the doing of geostigma and remembered how Kadaj had also been affected by it.

Reno shut the door behind them and now Yuffie felt extremely self conscious. She tightened her grip on her Shuriken, waiting for something to befall her.

However, it seemed they weren't in any sort of danger, and President Shinra had a frown deepening with every silent second that passed unbroken. Therefore, he was the first to speak. "Kadaj escaped with Jenova after all?" he said, it wasn't really a question, and Yuffie sensed Cloud stiffen with embarrassment. It was almost as though he were being scolded. He could hear the disappointment and frustration in Shinra's voice, something he had hated when he was in Soldier. However, he shook it from his mind and cleared his thoughts.

"Yuffie just told me that Kadaj doesn't have Jenova anymore," Cloud said, trying to keep the disbelief from entering his tone of voice.

It seemed that Shinra was extremely cautious of this statement as well. "Oh?" he said, surprised, "Well, she must know more than the Turks then."

Behind her, Reno gritted his teeth.

"That's right!" Yuffie said, proudly, "No more Jenova for those losers! Now it's just Kadaj and his brothers to deal with."

"How do you know this?" Shinra asked.

"I was there," Yuffie said, simply, not wanting to give too much information to the boss of an extremely dictating organization. Having based their studies on the research of mako energy, they would surely take interest in something that could destroy it. Even Yuffie wasn't at all sure how Jenova had vanished or why. Nor did she know why Kadaj seemed to shrink away from the water that had appeared in the church. All these questions, Yuffie knew could probably have been answered for her by Shinra, so it was even more important that he didn't know any more than he needed.

It was obvious that no one standing in the room had taken her reply seriously, but Yuffie didn't care. She wasn't about to explain herself in front of the Turks.

Vincent and Cloud both understood why Yuffie answered so vaguely, so they didn't push the subject.

"Kadaj and his brothers are hiding in the Forgotten City now," Vincent said.

"Yeah, we know," Reno stated, flatly. Vincent realized that his attempt to redirect the conversation was moot.

However, Yuffie seemed to have another card up her sleeve. "Kadaj has geostigma," she said, suddenly.

This had the desired effect as everyone in the room including Shinra gaped at her in surprise. Yuffie smirked smugly to herself.

"He does?" Cloud asked, somewhat slowly, "Where?"

"On his chest," Yuffie said. However, only a moment after she had replied, she realized what she had said. Her cheeks burned up as she readied herself for an onslaught of very assuming questions.

Of course, Cloud's gaze darkened with suspicion. "Oh?" he mumbled.

"Look I only –," Yuffie stumbled over a million and one excuses to try and cover up her now naked embarrassment. Vincent decided the conversation was leaning a little too close to the topic he considered inappropriate for the certain company.

"It doesn't matter," he said, sternly, silencing both of his companions.

Shinra and the Turks regarded them with extreme interest now, and Yuffie couldn't help but drop her gaze to the floor. Her cheeks were still cherry red, and she silently thanked Vincent for getting her out of the mess she had landed herself in.

Cloud sensed this, and turned his attention to Shinra. "I thought Kadaj was a remnant of Sephiroth? How could he have a disease that affects only humans?" he asked, bluntly.

"…" Shinra looked thoughtful. Reno and Rude stood silently on either side of him, waiting for him to reply.

"I don't know," he said, simply.

"Yes, you do," Cloud replied, darkly, "You're the creator of these monsters. You know exactly what is going on."

"I was the creator of Sephiroth," Shinra said, bluntly. His tone held a hint of frustration. "The lifestream is responsible for spitting out the other three."

"I don't believe you," Cloud stated, flatly.

There was a silence where Cloud and Shinra glared at each other from opposite ends of the room. Reno was shifting from side to side and Rude's frown was deepening with every passing second. Yuffie swallowed and tightened her grip on her Shuriken, while Vincent waited patiently for something to happen.

Just when Yuffie was sure nobody was going to say anything and Cloud would walk out, Vincent stepped forward, his dark eyes landing on the man in the wheelchair before him. Reno and Rude placed their hands on the top of their weapons, bracing for whatever was going to happen.

"Just another experiment, Rufus?" Vincent said, darkly, "Wanted to give it one more try?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Shinra replied, casually.

"The lifestream doesn't just give birth to beings with mako infused bodies, Shinra," Vincent snarled, maliciously.

Shinra frowned. "Then you know more than I do," he replied, icily.

There was a very heavy silence that followed his words. Both Reno and Rude exchanged dark looks over Shinra's head. Cloud noticed this and felt the anger rise in his chest. He knew what Vincent was trying to say, and the thought of Shinra continuing with his experiments even after the fall of his company infuriated him. Shinra was mindless to the danger he was causing the people of Midgar and the planet.

"Is it true?" Cloud spat, his eyes glazing over with suspicion.

Shinra only regarded him as calmly as before, but said nothing.

"Of course it is," Vincent replied for Shinra, ignorant of the man sitting before him, "how else would he have known what Kadaj was after if he wasn't his own creation?"

"That's right," Cloud said, thoughtfully, and then rounded on Shinra, and stated, "You've lied to me before."

"I assure you, I know nothing," Shinra said, but convinced no one, "But, it would seem that the person you should be asking is you're friend. She seems to know more about Kadaj and his brothers than any of us."

Yuffie gritted her teeth and glared over at Shinra. "Hey! You're lucky I have respect for the handicapped!" she snapped.

"Leave Yuffie out of this!" Vincent said, darkly, "We know you're behind it, and you're only going to endanger the people of this planet if you withhold information from us."

"Oh, good one, Vincent," Yuffie said, sarcastically, "Like he cares what happens to anyone else."

"Are you going to help us or not?" Cloud shouted over Yuffie. Shinra only glared at Vincent and Yuffie, most probably deciding on whether or not to send Reno and Rude at them.

"An eye for and eye, Cloud," he said, calmly, smirking, "I asked for your assistance only a few days ago and you turned your back on me."

Cloud scowled, but he didn't regret his decision one bit. He turned to Vincent and Yuffie, and mumbled, "Come on. We're leaving."

Yuffie shot Shinra and the Turks one last cold glare before she turned to follow Vincent and Cloud out. When they were outside, Cloud turned to Vincent and said, "Vincent, take Yuffie back to Seventh Heaven. Everyone is waiting for us. I'll meet you there."

"And you're going where?" Vincent mumbled, curiously.

"Excuse me?!" Yuffie snapped, "I'm not a child, Cloud! I will go back when I feel like it!"

"We should go back as soon as possible," Vincent said, to no one in particular, "and warn the rest."

"You go! I've been embarrassed enough today!" Yuffie snapped, angrily.

"That's your own doing," Vincent commented.

"I haven't done anything!" Yuffie growled in frustration, "If Cloud hadn't kept a better eye on my materia I wouldn't be in this situation!"

"So, if you don't go back to Midgar, you'll go back to Kadaj?" Cloud said, rather coolly.

Yuffie was so angry by his blunt statement, she grabbed the only thing that happened to be in her pocket at the moment and threw it at him. Fortunately for Cloud, it was his own cell phone. He caught it without effort and raised an eyebrow. "I thought I'd lost this," he said, absently.

Then, he realized as he glanced back up, that Yuffie was running away from them and down the road. "Yuffie!" he shouted in frustration.

"Let her go," Vincent said, simply, watching the ninja disappear as she rounded a bend.

"She's going to endanger everyone for the sake of her materia!" Cloud said, irritably.

"If anyone's in danger, it's herself, and so far, Kadaj hasn't killed her yet," Vincent mumbled, darkly.

"I don't understand her most times," Cloud stated to himself.

Vincent only gave a small 'hmph' in agreement.

"We should head back to Tifa and the others. I'll call them and let them know we're on our way," Cloud said, absently opening his phone to check and see that the battery was still alive. "Hm?"

Opening up the recent call activity, he noticed a few calls had occurred in the last day and a half between his phone and Yuffie's. Vincent regarded him, curiously. Cloud frowned. Yuffie was using his phone? But how if the receiver _was_ Yuffie?

"Strange," Cloud mumbled.

Vincent smirked behind his collar. "That's why I've never owned a phone," he replied.

* * *

It was quite and the only sound that disrupted the night was the rolling water of the river. Kadaj was lying on his back facing up at the branches of the glowing trees all around him. The stars were hidden behind a mass of dark clouds overhead, but he didn't mind in the least. Normally, the brightness of the Forgotten Forest didn't bother him, but tonight was different. Everything was uncomfortable for him tonight.

His last thought before he and his brothers had settled down had been of the ambush they had probably walked themselves into, but Yuffie and her followers would have shown up by this time. No, something else was bothering him.

Kadaj rolled over on his side and ended up facing the back of Yazoo's head. In that very moment, the silence of the night was broken by Loz's habitual snoring. Kadaj frowned and sat up, pinching the bridge of his nose in attempt to rid himself of the headache that was starting.

His thoughts had kept him awake. The arguments with Yazoo and what he had said about mother leaving them to figure life out on their own or die. At the time, Kadaj was sure Yazoo was making it all up, but now, after laying there calling to mother in his mind and having no response not even a sense of presence, Kadaj couldn't help but think he was right. There was a first in life for everything and now Kadaj realized how alone he really was.

He thought about waking Yazoo or Loz just to have them feel as irritable and lonely as he felt, but something held him back. Perhaps it was the thought that they would snap at him if he did so, especially Yazoo. And then, Kadaj caught himself in mid-thought: he was _scared_ of his brothers?

No, of course not!

Well, even if he wasn't scared of them, he still wasn't going to wake them. Then, Kadaj realized, he wasn't alone after all. He did have his brothers. But what if they abandoned him too?

A shot of pain tore through his body, and he winced, suppressing a gasp as his knees buckled and he crashed down into the dirt. His hands broke his fall, but Kadaj was so startled by what had happened he just lied there for a moment, catching his breath. Then, as an answer, the pain spiked through him again, this time not as intense and he realized it to be his illness, the geostigma.

He rolled onto his back again and shut his eyes tight, trying to block out the immense pain coursing through him, but it was useless. He held his breath, waiting for it to subside, and when it finally did, he gasped with exhaustion.

The noise roused Yazoo and Loz, who shifted uneasily in sleep and fell silent again. However, Yazoo seemed to have woken completely and he sat up when he realized Kadaj wasn't where he should be. His eyes followed the footprints in the damp soil to where Kadaj lay and he immediately stood and kneeled next to him, his mako eyes wide with fear.

"Brother?" he whispered, uncertainly.

"It hurts…" Kadaj gasped, gritting his teeth. His gloved hands balled up against his chest, his stinging skin underneath his jacket was burning as though on fire. He closed his eyes tightly again, trying to shut out the pain, never had he suffered like this before, even when mother was punishing him.

"What hurts?" Yazoo said, concern layering his usually indifferent tone. He grasped Kadaj's shoulder helplessly, and watched as his younger sibling shook violently.

Kadaj couldn't speak. His teeth were gritted together with such force that he could swear his jaw was locked and his throat was so tight no sound escaped.

"Kadaj?" Yazoo repeated, shaking his shoulder as though he thought Kadaj was in a terrible dream.

Finally, the pain subsided again, and Kadaj lay still. He opened his mouth to breath, though uneven, it was better than his earlier ragged breathes. Then, he opened his eyes to see that Yazoo looked equally terrified and confused.

"Mother's … mimetic … legacy…" Kadaj said, answering Yazoo's earlier question.

"Ours isn't spreading like yours is, Kadaj," Yazoo stated. His indifferent tone of voice coming back again.

"Mother is punishing me," Kadaj replied.

"It's going to kill you, brother," Yazoo mumbled. Something passed behind his mako eyes that Kadaj missed altogether.

"I let her die," Kadaj excused, "Mother is angry with me. I deserve no more than this."

"Lies," Yazoo said, sharply. He stood up and left Kadaj laying there, who looked after him in surprise.

Kadaj winced as he sat up, and found that much of his earlier strength was gone. Yazoo was regarding him coolly, or was it him he was looking at?

"We must fight it, Kadaj," Yazoo said, suddenly, "We must go to the humans and find a cure for it."

Kadaj smirked, ignorant of what had just happened to him. "I don't want to talk about this anymore," he snapped.

"Then, we won't talk about it. We'll just do it," Yazoo retorted, flatly.

Kadaj blinked at his brother's wit. He didn't think Yazoo was even capable of thinking that way. First, he was arguing him, and now he was being… witty? All order was lost in his world, as far as Kadaj was concerned.

"Have you gone insane?" was all Kadaj could say to his older brother.

"Trust me, or stay here and rot to death!" Yazoo suddenly snapped. Kadaj blinked in surprise and Loz sat up immediately woken from sleep and glanced around in confusion at the noise.

"Go back to sleep, Loz," Kadaj ordered, irritably.

Yazoo glanced over his shoulder and said, "No, Loz, don't go back to sleep. We're going to Midgar, and we're going now."

"Since, when were you ever in charge?" Kadaj snarled, defensively. He didn't like the new pyramid of power one bit.

"Since you failed the mission," Yazoo said, sharply. This silenced Kadaj. He didn't need reminding of the worst day of his life, and he knew that his silence was an agreement to Yazoo's new role as leader, but his mind was too muddled to argue it.

"Loz, you take the materia and walk. We're taking the bike. We'll meet you at the church," Yazoo said, calmly.

Loz looked like he would protest, but he saw Kadaj's state and didn't dare. The youngest couldn't even stand on his own anymore. Yazoo helped Kadaj onto the bike, realizing how much the disease had affected him overnight and hoping they would find a cure soon.

"Why the church? It smells funny. It's all those flowers," Loz whined.

Yazoo ignored him.

"Does Kadaj like the flowers?" Loz teased. Again, Yazoo ignored him, but Kadaj had worked up enough strength to glare over at his oldest brother. Once more Kadaj felt more like the younger brother he was and less like the leader he was meant to be. He suppressed his anger over it for the time, because he knew it was no good. He couldn't do anything about it right now.

"Here is the materia," Yazoo said, after perching Kadaj on the bike he ducked down and grabbed the box of materia and handed it to Loz.

"Don't loose it!" Kadaj spat, angrily.

Yazoo ignored their arguing and got on the bike. "We'll see you at the church," he mumbled, indifferently. He started the engine and tore off through the trees, leaving Loz standing their with a box full of materia.

"I'm not going to loose anything!" Loz shouted back at Kadaj, though he didn't hear him.

Then, as Loz started making his way through the forest slowly, following the tracks in the ground from Yazoo's bike, he suddenly thought of something.

How was he suppose to get to Midgar?

Loz gritted his teeth in frustration. They should have given him directions! He had only ever followed behind Yazoo, but now that wasn't possible. He realized this as he stumbled into a clearing in the trees and watched as the track marks of the bike faded onto more solid ground.

Loz placed the materia down on a stump and flipped open his phone. His heart stopped when he realized the battery had died overnight.

"Hmph, great," he mumbled sarcastically. He shut the phone and put it back in his pocket, glancing up at the trees and different paths as he did so.

Taking a deep breath, he randomly chose a path to follow and hoped with all his strength that it would eventually lead him to Midgar.

* * *

Yuffie had walked far too much in the last couple days than she normally would have. Given her motion sickness didn't allow her to rely on anything except her own two feet to get her anywhere in one piece, she used to walking. But this was just crazy as far as she was concerned.

She had reached the edge of Midgar and the beginning of another long walk through, what she considered, a really creepy part of town. Especially in the dead of night, the run down part of the city wasn't necessarily the friendliest part. But, the church was only a few minutes away and she had already been walking for a long time. Yuffie didn't count the hours, but she figured at least half the night had already wasted away.

"Damn," Yuffie mumbled, as she remembered her promise to Tifa the day before. "I'll just have to work that miracle shift another time."

She rounded a bend and made her way quickly between two rundown buildings, and came out into a wider dirt road. The moon was hidden behind a bunch of clouds and Yuffie hoped it would come out soon, because she couldn't see a damn thing. Once or twice she though about using her materia to light a stick on fire to lead her way, but then she had to deal with the frustration when she realized she didn't have her materia anymore.

Making a frustrated noise, Yuffie continued blindly into another alleyway and found herself on the same street as the church. She sighed in relief. The thought of being able to sit and rest her aching feet was a wonderful feeling, but as she rounded another corner and saw the church before her something silver caught her eye.

She quickly dashed behind and overturned cart and crouched low, hoping they hadn't seen her. When she peeked over the edge of the smelly wood, Yuffie saw only Yazoo getting back on his bike and driving away into the distance. Wondering what he had been doing there, Yuffie quietly approached the church. Maybe he had left the materia there? She doubted it, but at this point she was wishing for anything to go right.

Yuffie pressed her ear against the doors of the church and listened for anyone inside, but she heard nothing. She squeezed through the crack between the two double doors and entered as silently as she could, letting her guard down just slightly.

The water was still pooling in the center of the church, glistening magically in the non-existent moonlight. Yuffie felt her body relax at the sight of it and she walked between the rows of broken benches to reach the edge and stood there looking into its shallow depths.

She crouched at the edge and decided that her hands were filthy. Dropping her Shuriken to the side, she started to wash them off in the water. Her thoughts seemed to slow to a comfortable pace as she calmed and her feet started to feel a little better.

Then, something made a sound over in the far corner that brought Yuffie out of her daze.

Her eyes snapped over to the sound and she caught her breath as she saw Kadaj sitting on the ground behind a pillar, leaning up against it. His arms were limp at his sides, and he wasn't facing her. In fact the only reason she knew it was Kadaj was because of the sword hanging at his side. He was sitting behind the pillar, very much hidden from view except for his shoulder and sword.

Something told Yuffie to grab her Shuriken and leave, but something, a louder voice, told her to stay and get closer. Maybe it wasn't him at all.

Yuffie tended to listen more to the louder more persuasive voices, and so she stood and made her way quietly over to him.

When she walked around the pillar to face him, she noticed his eyes were closed, and he looked very exhausted. In fact, she didn't even know if he was still _alive_. The only thing that gave him away was a small movement from his hand, shortly followed by one of his eyes fluttering partly open.

Yuffie froze. Kadaj regarded her weakly and closed his eyes again, giving a small sigh as though he should have known better than to lay in a place where he was bound to be found.

"What are you doing here?" Yuffie snapped.

Kadaj didn't reply. In his attempt to respond, he drew in a ragged breath, which seemed to catch Yuffie off-guard. She blinked and realized he must be injured or something.

"What's wrong with you?" even as she asked it, she knew the answer immediately and dropped her gaze. "Oh, right, you're stigma. We'll serves you right!"

Kadaj shot her a suspicious glare, and Yuffie couldn't help but blush as she realized she had just admitted to seeing him half-nude. However, she thought quickly and recovered by noticing part of the geostigma near his collar.

"You have it here," she said, absently moving his collar for a better look. Before she knew it, he had grabbed her wrist tightly.

"Don't…" he snarled, weakly. He squeezed her wrist even tighter. She tried her best to keep the pain from showing in her face.

"Let go of my hand, bastard!" she snapped, "Do you want my help or not?"

A curious expression passed through his mako orbs as he glared up at her.

"You know…the cure?" he mumbled, in disbelief. How could the humans have the cure? It was impossible! Mother had made sure there was _no_ cure! But then again, mother, Kadaj winced inwardly, had been a liar.

"Well, no, but…"

"Then, how can you help me? You're just a liar!" Kadaj snapped. For a moment he seemed to obtain an ounce of strength as a flare of anger ignited in him again. Was everyone liars? Yazoo and Loz, too? So, if everyone lied, why did he bother telling the truth? It was a double-edge sword as far as he was concerned.

"Am not!" Yuffie snarled. Forgetting that Kadaj was already in a terrible state, Yuffie smacked him across the face for the insult. Unable to break his fall this time, Kadaj simply fell sideways and landed with a face-full of dust. Yuffie didn't feel at all sorry for him. However, he wasn't the only one that had bothered her that day, and now everything she had bottled up seemed to explode from her mouth. "I try and be as honest as possible, you know? But everyone thinks I'm annoying because I talk too much! But when I don't talk, I'm being too quiet and they get suspicious of me!" And then, she forgot the point and wandered off topic. Meanwhile, Kadaj helped himself lean upwards against the pillar again. He wiped his face with the back of the glove, and glared over at Yuffie, but she was too busy shouting to notice.

"And I can never do what I want without someone like Tifa or Cloud on my ass about everything! Yuffie, you can't do this! Yuffie, you can't do that! Yuffie, phone us every fking minute of the day to let us know what your up to! Like I don't have my own fking life!"

Finally, Kadaj had had enough. "Shut up," he drawled. His eyes closed again, but he was still awake. The pain that had shuddered through him earlier that morning was starting up again, and he tried to keep it out of his face, but it was impossible.

Yuffie frowned and put her hands on her hips before she noticed his pained expression. When she turned to snap back at him, she realized he was shaking. His arms were wrapped around his chest protectively. Yuffie didn't know what to do. She had seen when Denzel went strange over his stigma, but she had never seen it this bad before. She froze on the spot and could only watch him suffer.

After about a minute, Kadaj stiffened and relaxed, and Yuffie let out the breath she was holding. Kadaj pressed a hand to his chest again, and felt underneath the leather for the tender spot, sharply drawing in a breath when he found it. He felt the weakened skin break under his touch and the warm blood, _his_ blood, leak down his stomach under his jacket.

He was all too tired. He wanted to sleep forever and never wake up. But first…

His jade eyes met Yuffie's instantly, silencing whatever she had on her mind. Before he slept, he wanted answers. He wanted to know so many things, things his mother had never told him. Things Yazoo had tried so hard to explain.

"How can you have geostigma?" Yuffie said, before Kadaj could even think of what to ask. He was caught off guard by the question.

"Mother… has abandoned me," he replied, as though it explained everything. To his surprise, Yuffie looked even more confused.

"What kind of mother would do that to her own kid? That's so cold-hearted!" Yuffie mumbled, more to herself than anything. Then she added, thoughtfully, "Even if her kid is a crazed silver-haired jerk."

"Mother only does what's best," Kadaj replied through gritted teeth.

"And murdering her son is what's best?" Yuffie scoffed, "Sorry, I really don't see the logic in that."

"That's because you're a human and you're weak. You will never understand mother's thinking. She is supreme and you are obsolete," Kadaj retorted. However, he had paused to muse over her last statement. It bothered him when not even he could understand why killing him was best.

"Well, maybe you can explain it to me then," Yuffie snapped, "and for your fat information, I thought only humans could contract geostigma. So, what does that make you?"

Kadaj was about to open his mouth to answer, but his mind paused. He didn't know the answer. Why did he have geostigma if he wasn't human? Did that mean he was…human? Of course not! It was ridiculous! Only he could hear the voice of his mother echoing down to him from the promise land, and no human had that talent.

But what about now? He couldn't hear her anymore.

Yuffie was still regarding him with a triumphant smirk. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She said, smugly.

Kadaj was so confused. Is this was Yazoo had tried to tell him before? Then, he remembered what Yazoo had asked Loz yesterday, and for the first time he wanted to know the answer to that simple question. He looked up at the ninja before him and wondered the same thing.

"Why do humans cry?" he asked, repeating Yazoo only hours before.

Yuffie blinked in surprise and the strange and random inquiry. She figured her calling him 'deranged' didn't quite cover it. But she figured as long as he wasn't trying to kill her, there was no harm in answering.

"Uh…lots of things make us cry," she replied, simply, "Mostly, we cry because we're sad, but sometimes we cry when we're really happy."

Kadaj frowned. Maybe this was more complicated than he thought and Yazoo could tell him more about it. Where humans always this complicated? Was that why they were weak? Or did mother just tell him that? Maybe humans weren't weak at all. Then, if they weren't weak, why did they cry? Loz cried too. Did that make him human?

"Have you ever cried?" he asked, before he could stop himself.

Yuffie smirked and stood a little straighter. "Never! I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie! I never cry!"

Kadaj's frown deepened. So, humans also deny things…

Then, another question struck him.

"How are humans fighting the geostigma?"

"We help each other," Yuffie said, simply. Though, she was beginning to get a little suspicious over all these questions.

"Why do you want to help me?" Kadaj asked, finally. He remembered what Yazoo had said about the humans fighting the geostigma and now he felt a new desire to join the fight. But, how were they fighting it? He didn't understand.

Yuffie smirked. "I can't let you die, because you're the only one who knows where my materia is!" she snapped.

"You live for your materia," Kadaj scowled, bitterly.

"Hmph, at least I live for something other than my mommy!" Yuffie retorted, sharply.

"Shut up! You know nothing!" Kadaj snapped, defensively. If he had the strength Yuffie would have found herself thrown across the church. Fortunately for her, Kadaj could only threaten verbally and leave a rain check.

"I obviously know a lot more than you do!" Yuffie said, smirking. Taking advantage of his weakened state, she pushed him over again and watched him slump to the ground. Normally, she wasn't so brutal, but considering all the chaos he had created, she figured he deserved it.

The moment her hands came in contact with the infected skin, Kadaj felt a jolt of pain and then a light tingling sensation. When he landed, Kadaj found that some of his strength was returning. His chest was still tingling and he looked down at his infected skin to find that the ugly geostigma was vanishing before his eyes.

Yuffie was watching it evaporate too. Her mouth was half-open in shock. She looked down at her hands, as a million things ran through her mind. How had she cured him?

She tore her gaze away from her palms and stared back down at Kadaj, who was gazing up at her with an expression she had never seen him wear before.

"Whoa," she breathed in disbelief. Kadaj's features fell back to his usual sneer, and he stood up, basking in the newfound strength he now had. His body felt lighter, stronger. He felt as good as he had felt when he had discovered where mother had hid.

A malicious glare crossed his face. His eyes flashed darkly, and Yuffie suddenly took a panicked step back.

"Now…" Kadaj mused, "You slapped me."

"Yeah, but I cured you too, so we could call it square!" Yuffie suddenly replied, glancing over at where her Shuriken lay on the ground by the water. She cursed herself for her carelessness again.

"I don't like to play fair," Kadaj said. In that instant, he unsheathed Souba with a threatening ring of steal. "Besides," he added, mischievously, "You weren't playing fair a moment ago."

"Oh, whatever! I'm not scared of you anyways!" Yuffie said, hoping to keep the panic out of her voice at the thought of being weaponless yet again.

"I've heard that before. But you're lying. I can tell," Kadaj said, silkily.

"You've got an extremely overgrown ego on your head, have you ever noticed? I think you should get it removed before it swallows you up!" Yuffie retorted in frustration.

"Arrgh, stop wasting my time!" Kadaj said, lunging forward and raising Souba above his head.

Thinking fast, Yuffie dived out of his way, grabbed her Shuriken and shouted, angrily, "Oh, come on, you ass hole! I just saved your life and this is how you repay a favor? I should have let you rot."

"Yes," Kadaj said, straightening up. His back was turned to her, and it was difficult to comprehend his tone. With his expression hidden from her, Yuffie didn't know what to make of it, but his sword was down at his side now and he wasn't so tense. She saw this as a good sign.

"How did you do that?" he asked. His tone was pure curiosity and nothing else. Yuffie was glad she wasn't getting chased anymore.

"I can't tell you that. It's a secret," Yuffie smirked. She figured he would probably keep her alive if he thought she knew something of worth to him.

Kadaj was silent. Yuffie figured he was mulling over about what to do with her and she secretly hoped he wouldn't go after her anymore. She felt somehow proud that she had outsmarted him again and left him guessing. But she wanted to know how she had managed to cure the geostigma too. It would definitely make her look like the ninja hero she was born to be if she had truly discovered the cure.

Kadaj turned around to face her know. There was a strange look in his eyes that Yuffie couldn't explain or understand. He wasn't angry, she was used to seeing that part of him. Instead, his expression was purely studious, and Yuffie couldn't help but gaze back into those jade eyes.

Before either of them could speak, the church doors flung open and Yazoo and Loz entered. Loz was carrying the box of materia and Yuffie almost pounced on him for it if it hadn't been for Yazoo's Velvet Nightmare. He had unsheathed it with such speed it bewildered her, and he pointed it between her eyes.

"Should I kill her now, Kadaj?" he asked, hopefully.

Yuffie bit her bottom lip and gripped her Shuriken, readying her escape. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"No, brother."

Yuffie blinked in surprise. Even Yazoo and Loz glanced over at Kadaj in shock at his sudden order.

"But –," Yazoo started.

"Don't argue me!" Kadaj snapped, his usual anger darkening his features again. Then, Yazoo realized something.

"You're geostigma…it's gone?"

Kadaj glanced over at Yuffie, but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to Loz and said, "Give her the materia."

"What?" Loz gaped. Yuffie looked equally shocked, but excited all the same. She was getting her materia back!

"Brother?" Yazoo asked, a little more gently this time. Kadaj regarded Yazoo with mild interest and simply said, "You were right, Yazoo. Mother has abandoned us."

"What is on your mind, Kadaj?" Yazoo asked, genuinely interested. He had always wanted to ask that question and now he had the chance.

Kadaj only glanced back at Yuffie before he started to head slowly for the exit of the church. His heavy leather boots made the floor creak with every step and in the silence that fell between them, the smallest movement could be heard.

Loz gave Yuffie back her materia, and she snatched it from him protectively. Once it was in her hands, she wasn't going to wait for Kadaj to change his mind.

"Great! Eat my dust!" she said, excitedly and jumped past Kadaj and his brothers with her load of materia. She burst through the doors of the church and disappeared down the street.

Back in the old church, Yazoo regarded his younger brother with something close to curiousity and respect equally mixed. Was Kadaj finally listening to him?

"Why are you letting her live? And why did you let her take the materia?" Yazoo asked.

"We don't need it anymore. Mother's presence is gone. The geostigma is curable. The girl has no information that is valuable to us," Kadaj said, disregarding the fact that she knew the cure. Something in the back of his mind told him to not share that information.

"So, you let her go?"

Kadaj was so confused at his own actions, but he felt they were right. He was angry at his weakness that he couldn't even kill the stupid girl, but at the same time he felt satisfied that he had overcome that side of him; Sephiroth's side of him.

Suddenly, Kadaj realized that even if no purpose was given to them, they could make one for themselves on their own. But how?

"Yazoo, why do humans cry?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"You asked Loz first."

"I don't know. Do you know?"

Kadaj nodded slowly and grinned. He had been thinking about Yuffie's answer to his question, and now it made a little more sense to him… maybe not. He could understand it, but not explain it. But something in the back of his mind told him that his brothers wouldn't understand what he was feeling. He didn't either.

Mother had created a cure for the geostigma – that ninja.

Behind them the mako waters glistened magically.


End file.
